Abiodun Oyebanji
Website: https://www.ekitistate.gov.ng
Office Date: October 2022
Address: Government House, Ado-Ekiti
Birth Date: 21 December 1967
Birth State: Ekiti State
Political Party: All Progressives Congress (APC)
State: Ekiti State
Abiodun Abayomi Oyebanji is a prominent Nigerian politician currently serving as the governor of Ekiti State since 2022. Prior to his governorship, he held significant positions in the state government, including Secretary to the Ekiti State Government and Chief of Staff. Oyebanji emerged as the winner of the 2022 Ekiti State gubernatorial election, defeating Olusegun Oni of the Social Democratic Party and Bisi Kolawole of the People's Democratic Party.
Oyebanji's educational journey began at Awo Community High School before transferring to C.A.C Grammar School in Efon-Alaaye, Ekiti State. He furthered his studies at the Federal School of Art and Science in Ondo State and the District Commercial Secondary School in Aramoko, Ekiti State, from 1979 to 1983. In 1989, he obtained a Bachelor of Science (BSc.) degree in Political Science from Ondo State University (now Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti). He later pursued his master's degree (M.Sc.) in Political Science at the University of Ibadan in 1992.
Throughout his career, Oyebanji has served in various capacities in public service, including appointments and committee memberships. In 1994, he was appointed Secretary of the committee responsible for the creation of Ekiti State, which was headed by Baba Deji Falegan. He also served as Secretary of the Ekiti State Development Fund. With Nigeria's transition to democracy in 1999, Oyebanji became one of the top advisers to Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Ekiti State's first democratically elected governor. He eventually rose to the position of Chief of Staff to the governor in 2003.
In 2009, Oyebanji was appointed Chairman of the governing board of the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre under the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (June 2009 to December 2010). He later served as Commissioner for Integration and Inter-governmental Affairs and held a position in Ekiti's Office of Transformation Strategy and Delivery (OTSD) under the administration of Kayode Fayemi. In 2018, Oyebanji was appointed Secretary to the State Government (SSG) by Kayode Fayemi after Fayemi's re-election for a second term as Governor of Ekiti State.
In 2021, Oyebanji resigned from his position as Secretary to the State Government to pursue his aspirations of becoming the governor of Ekiti State. On December 8, 2021, he declared his intention to contest the Ekiti State gubernatorial election in 2022. Although there were speculations about Oyebanji being favored by Kayode Fayemi, which led to allegations of imposition and withdrawal of other aspirants from the governorship primaries, Oyebanji emerged unopposed as the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election.
On June 18, 2022, Oyebanji was elected as the governor of Ekiti State on the APC platform, securing a 30% margin over the second-place finisher, former Governor Olusegun Oni of the Social Democratic Party. He was officially sworn in as the Governor of Ekiti State on October 16, 2022.