Nigerian politician and businessman Prince Dapo Abiodun is the Ogun State governor. He was sworn in as governor on May 29, 2019, after winning the 2019 gubernatorial elections while running on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
Prince Dapo Abiodun made a commitment to transform Ogun State when he was sworn in as the state’s fifth democratically elected governor. He outlined his priorities for infrastructure development, social welfare and wellbeing, education and human capital, youth empowerment, agriculture, and food security in what he called the ISEYA mantra.
The roads his predecessor left unfinished were Abiodun’s first stop. He began repairing public roadways owned by the community. Additionally, he was busy building roads and implementing agricultural programs that had an impact on thousands of lives during the COVID-19 crisis. He was renovating schools all around the state, fostering a business-friendly climate, encouraging entrepreneurs to take advantage of the state’s business potential, and generating opportunities for current firms by constructing infrastructure.
The man is clearly an administrator who wants to give self-evident democratic dividends. The takeaway from Abiodu’s performance, it would seem, is that a governor should have a plan of action and, more importantly, know how to execute it.
Whether it was the Sagamu-Abeokuta road, the Ijebu-Ode-Epe road, or the Atan-Lusada-Agbara route in Nigeria’s busiest industrial corridor, roads were springing up everywhere in Ogun State. Abiodun began operating simultaneously across the three senatorial districts, which was a departure from the usual window-dressing of the state capital. He maintained his focus on governance even when his opponents sought to divert him by calling him every derogatory epithet under the sun.
His candidacy for a second term has garnered enthusiastic support from a grateful people, which is hardly surprising. Among others, students, artists, and professors have praised his accomplishments in a variety of fields, pointing out that even though some projects have not yet been started, his use of the few resources available has been exceptional.
They characterized him as a talker and doer who makes no promises he can’t keep. Naturally, his performance has won over a wide range of important stakeholders in the state. Of these, the support of traditional rulers throughout the state, who are the keepers of tradition, deserves special attention. The economic potential of the state has significantly increased under him, according to the obas, who affirm that he deserves another term.
The Dapo Abiodun administration, which has been criticized for adopting a paradigm shift away from the practice of concentrating projects in either the state capital or major cities, is starting to receive the credit it deserves as the falsehoods begin to fade and a genuine appreciation of the significant improvement in the lives of the Ogun people takes their place.
The fact that Governor Dapo Abiodun has distributed development fairly across the state is one notable distinction between the current government and the recently-past one, as many commentators have started to realize. Previously, only the state’s biggest cities had magnificent roadways, leaving other regions to almost completely rot. But things are very different now.
All of the main roads in the communities were in disrepair when Governor Abiodun joined the team. He formed the direct labor agency, which simultaneously went into all 20 local government regions of the state and began repairing roads. After completing that, the governor did something very different: he accepted the projects that his predecessors had abandoned or had partially completed. Unfinished projects are scattered across many of Nigeria’s 36 states, as many Nigerians are well aware, as governors see initiatives started by their predecessors as anathema, producing a horrifying sight. The huge Agro-allied Airport which is almost finished but was simply an idea under the Gbenga Daniel administration, is one example of how the gentleman governor who oversees the Gateway State never did that. The aforementioned airport is located along the Ilishan-Iperu-Remo road of the busy Lagos Ibadan expressway and the Sagamu – Benin expressway.
It was constructed as an airport city to accommodate both freight and passenger needs. It is the second-largest airport in Nigeria. The project’s size, splendor, and grace serve as a potent testament to Abiodun’s leadership’s commitment to the vision he has for the Gateway State. The long-abandoned Olokola Free Trade Zone is becoming a reality.
In addition to working with residents of his own state, Governor Abiodun has also been partnering with Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, with whom he recently launched separate joint commissions in Abeokuta.ely address challenges relating to security, sanitation, transportation, waste management, water supply, land use planning, infrastructure development and maintenance, urban regeneration, and social re-engineering, this was done in an effort to forge a single alliance.
The parley with Sanwo-olu bordered on a wider alliance, making it the first time a formal, structured, and legislation-backed framework of engagement was put in place, whereas the security meeting with Makinde was organized to find long-term solutions to the security challenges facing Ogun and Oyo states.
Since he took office in 2019, Abiodun has recognized the importance of having a reliable public transportation system. He began by establishing an interim committee for the transportation industry. The committee’s suggestion led to the establishment of a full-fledged Ministry of Transportation in 2021, taking the place of the Bureau of Transportation. A safe, inexpensive, accessible, and enjoyable multimodal transportation system that will encourage state development moving forward was granted to the new ministry.
The Ogun State Transportation Master Plan was officially introduced by the governor, along with the Mass Bus Transit System, which features air-conditioned buses with Wi-Fi. The transportation policy, which addresses road, rail, water, and air transportation, considers short-, medium-, and long-term approaches to the growth of Ogun State’s transportation sector. The comprehensive and in-depth Urban Transport Policy and Strategic Transport Intervention Plan serve as the foundation for Governor Abiodun’s administration’s multimodal transportation master plan. The buses, which were only introduced as part of the transport master plan’s experimental phase, are currently only used to transport commuters inside Abeokuta, but they will soon be utilized in other cities as well. Dapo Abiodun was born on Sunday, May 29, 1960, into the family of Dr. Emmanuel and Mrs. Victoria Abiodun of Iperu-Remo, in the Ikenne Local Government of Ogun State. His full name is Prince Adedapo Oluseun Abiodun, MFR. The two parents were educators.
Christ’s School Ado Ekiti in 1972, St. Joseph’s College in Ondo in 1977, and later Ondo High School in 1978 were all schools that Dapo Abiodun attended. His education followed the pattern of his parents’ relocation, who worked in several locations around the then-Western Region.
Dapo Abiodun continued his education at the esteemed University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, Osun State, where he majored in civil engineering. However, he later transferred to Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he earned a BBA in accounting in 1986.
Between 1989 and 1991, Dapo Abiodun worked as a cost accountant for Glock Inc. USA. Then, driven by his love for his country, he returned to Nigeria and started his entrepreneurial journey there. He started a number of prosperous companies. He served as Chairman and/or Chief Executive of a number of reputable companies prior to taking office as Governor of Ogun State on May 29, 2019, including Crestar Hydrocarbons Limited, OMS-Heyden Exploration and Production Limited, Heyden Petroleum Limited, Alarmnet and Innovative Ventures Limited, and First Power Limited.
The politician has gorgeous children with Bamidele, his childhood lover, and they are happily married.
