The governorship election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 9 has produced quite a number of new faces that will be saddled with the affairs of the various states from May 29.
Dapo Abiodun – Governor-Elect, Ogun State (APC)
Dapo Abiodun was born May 29, 1960. He is the Governor-elect of Ogun State. Abiodun is the board Chairman of the Corporate Affairs Commission. He is the managing director of Heyden Petroleum and the founder of First Power Limited.
He hails from Iperu Remo in Ogun State and belongs to a royal family. He was born into the family of Dr Emmanuel and Mrs Victoria Abiodun from Iperu Remo, in Ogun East senatorial district.
He studied civil engineering at the Obafemi Awolowo University Ife, Osun State and subsequently, Accounting at Kennesaw State University, Atlanta Georgia, United States of America (USA). He is the managing director/CEO of Heyden Petroleum Ltd (HPL), an indigenous player in the downstream, midstream, and upstream oil and gas industry in Nigeria. He is also reportedly the founder of First Power Limited.
Abiodun was a member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State. He defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) after the 2015 general elections.
Seyi Makinde -Governor-Elect, Oyo State (PDP)
Oluwaseyi Abiodun Makinde, the Oyo State governor-elect, was born December 25, 1967. He is the Group Managing Director of Makon Group Limited, an indigenous oil and gas company in Nigeria. He established his first oil and gas private business called Makon Engineering and Technical Services, (METS) at 29 in 1997, after earning years of work experience with international oil and gas companies.
Makinde contested for the Oyo State 2015 gubernatorial seat on the platform Social Democratic Party (SDP).
He was born to a renowned teacher turned accountant, the late Pa Olatubosun Makinde and Madam Abigail Makinde of Aigbofa compound in Oja’ba, Ibadan. He is the third child of the family.
Makinde went to St Paul Primary School, St Michael Primary School, Yemetu, Ibadan, Bishop Phillips Academy, Monatan, Ibadan and the University of Lagos (Unilag), where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu – Governor-Elect, Lagos State (APC)
Lagos State Governor-elect Babajide Sanwo-Olu was born on June 25, 1965. He is a graduate of the University of Lagos, the London Business School, Lagos Business School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He was the Managing Director/CEO of Lagos State Property Development Corporation (LSPDC).
He holds a B.Sc in Surveying and an MBA from the University of Lagos. He is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) and Fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Training and Development (NITAD). He was the treasurer at former Lead Merchant Bank from 1994 to 1997 after which he moved to the United Bank for Africa as the head of foreign money market. He then proceeded to First Inland Bank, Plc (now First City Monument Bank) as a deputy general manager and divisional head. He was the chairman of Baywatch Group Limited and First Class Group Limited. He is a board member of the Department for International Development (DFID/DEEPEN) Fund and Audit Committee of Caverton Offshore Services Group, PLC.
He began his political career in 2003, when he was appointed Special Adviser on Corporate Matters to the then deputy governor of Lagos State, Femi Pedro. He later became acting Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget and the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry. In 2007, Sanwo-Olu was appointed Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions.
