But Dayo Adeyeye’s resilience, patience, brilliance, etc. also count in his appointment as NPA chair
It is only those who do not know Dayo Adeyeye that would be wondering what his mission was when on Tuesday, last week, he addressed the press on the achievements of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration in the last 26 months, at the Radisson Blu Hotel, G.R.A., Ikeja, Lagos. Those who know him know that he was only doing what he knows how to do best: put his imprimatur on anything Tinubu, especially as far as his performance so far as president is concerned. The press statement was appropriately titled: “You ain’t seen nothing yet! Swaga 2.0”.
In listing a significant number of the achievements of the Tinubu administration in the last two years, and in his expression of optimism on the government’s direction, in spite of what some cynics say or feel about the administration, Adeyeye is only acting in line with his tradition. He came up with the South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) at a time nobody gave the group a chance.
Adeyeye is not a latter day Tinubu convert. The journey dates back to the days of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), when some prominent Nigerians teamed up to ensure that the military regimes in power before 1999 honoured their promise to quit the political scene on schedule.
Adeyeye’s latest avowal of the faith in Tinubu presidency began with the founding of SWAGA that he leads, in 2020. That was three years before the 2023 General Election that eventually saw the emergence of Tinubu as the flag bearer of the All Progressive’s Congress (APC), and ultimately, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Although Tinubu had many support groups, SWAGA was an early comer. It was not only an early comer, it is self-sustaining. Bosun Oladele, a former member of the House of Representatives and SWAGA’s national secretary, said: “Every money we have spent so far has been from our personal contributions without support from anyone, including Asiwaju himself. Till today, we have not gone to ask him for any financial support. It is a cause we believe in and are convinced about, and so our members have resolved to put in everything they can, both physical and material resources, to ensure it succeeds.” That was three years after founding the group.
So, when Adeyeye was appointed chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in July, last year, many saw it as an appointment well deserved. Not only from the angle of being compensated for believing so much in the man, Tinubu, but also because he is eminently qualified for the appointment. That his inauguration took so long in coming was the shocker.
Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate Leader noted this much at a reception in honour of Adeyeye last month, following his inauguration: “If anyone had told me it would take this long for Senator Adeyeye to be appointed, I would have said it’s impossible.” He was obviously referring to the one year interregnum within which Adeyeye was in limbo after his appointment as NPA chairman, as he was not inaugurated until about a year later.
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“He (Adeyeye) was among the first to champion this movement and stuck with it through thick and thin. That’s why this moment is not just a personal victory for him—it’s symbolic of loyalty finally being rewarded,” Opeyemi said.
Musiliu Obanikoro, former Minister of State for Defence and senator, also at the reception, praised Adeyeye’s political commitment, loyalty and early investment in Tinubu’s ambition.
“You threw yourself into the SWAGA business when it wasn’t popular,” Obanikoro said. He added: “When Asiwaju was taken with reservations, you criss-crossed the entire south-west for him. The appointment you got is well deserved. I am happy you have been recognised. This is only the beginning.”
Ayo Arise, a former Ekiti north senator, echoed similar sentiments when he noted that Adeyeye’s contributions to the Tinubu campaign and the APC in the south-west were both strategic and sacrificial. “The role Adeyeye played wasn’t just political—it was foundational. He took risks, built alliances, and never wavered,” Arise said.
Ekiti State governor, Biodun Oyebanji, said the appointment was a significant honour not just for Adeyeye but for the entire state. “The president gave this position to Ekiti, and he could not have chosen better,” Oyebanji said.
One significant thing at this reception was the presence of former governors Ayodele Fayose and Segun Oni at the event. Of course this also was not accidental. It tells a lot about Adeyeye’s personality as a bridge builder.
Another important characteristic of Adeyeye is his resilience which manifested in his handling of his long delay in being inaugurated. He took things in their stride. In a situation where several other politicians would have lost their heads, he kept his cool.
He said, in his remark at the reception: “He (the president) told me not to worry, that he had plans for me. And he kept that promise.”
Of course this piece won’t be complete if I do not share part of my personal experiences about Adeyeye. Our paths crossed in 1985 when I went for an interview at The Punch. About 40-something of us had turned up for the interview and I remember the people in charge, including Adeyeye, who was then Features Editor of the newspaper, told us then they were after merit. Another person who played a prominent role during that process was Alhaji Nojeem Jimoh, the deputy to the then editor of the daily editor, Mr Nurudeen Alade Balogun, the one we popularly called ‘Uncle NAT’ (now of blessed memory).
We had the tests in both newspaper production and feature article. I remember I based my feature article on Decree 4 promulgated by the Buhari/Idiagbon junta in 1984. I knew within me that I did very well in that article in which I relied substantially on a piece by the (then) Dr Olatunji Dare (now professor) in The Guardian which I read hours before the interview, as something kept telling me it was going to be useful to me.
There is no doubt that Jimoh and Adeyeye kept to their promise to select based strictly on merit because if it had been based on ‘man know man’, I would have had no chance of being employed. Some of our colleagues that came for the interview happened to know Jimoh and may be ‘Uncle NAT’. They even went into their offices to take bottled water while those of us who knew nobody in the system were wondering if we were not just wasting our time coming for the interview.
Surprisingly, they started releasing the results in batches of 10. One feature writer, Jide Kutelu (now of blessed memory too) was the one who came to announce the names of those that had been dropped in batches. In the end, only four of us that knew nobody in the place were the last men standing, and we eventually got the job. To the glory of God, I later became editor of the daily title of the newspaper, years later.
For me, this is another plus for Adeyeye, a brilliant mind if you ask me. Fidelity. President Tinubu obviously took his eyes to the market in making him chairman of the NPA.
Be that as it may, however, Adeyeye and I related again in 1998/1999) when he engaged me to do some media research job for Chief Olu Falae who was contesting for president, against General Olusegun Obasanjo in the 1999 General Election. Falae didn’t have the kind of war chest that Obasanjo had access to but this did not deter Adeyeye from sticking with him. So, when they say they funded SWAGA all by themselves without support, one should know where he is coming from.
Interestingly, while Alhaji Nojeem and I have never lost touch even though both of us left The Punch a long time ago, I think I only met Adeyeye at a function once when he was either senator or minister of state for works. Beyond wishing him well on both occasions, I never made any attempt to see him in either capacity again.
But I got interested in his matter when he was appointed NPA chair and he was not inaugurated months after.
Adeyeye is not only all about SWAGA. He is several things rolled into one. He has had a work experience spanning three major professional fields – teaching, journalism and legal practice. He is also a successful politician who has played major roles on Nigeria’s political stage for decades.
Apart from being a member of NADECO, he was also Director of Publicity, Falae for President Campaign Organisation (1990-1992); Adviser on Policy and Press Matters, M.K.O. Abiola for President Campaign Organisation (1993).
He was also the spokesperson for the Alliance for Democracy (AD) from 2004 to 2006; and a member of the South-West Delegation to the Nigerian leaders of Thought Conference, Abuja. Adeyeye was the youngest of the 21 leaders who represented the South Western zone of Nigeria at the Conference (2001). He was also the National Publicity Secretary of the Pan Yoruba Socio-political group, Afenifere, between 2001 and 2004.
Adeyeye’s election as Senator for Ekiti South Senatorial District in 2019 was later upturned by the election tribunal in favour of his closest rival, Abiodun Olujimi, after the recalculation of the results. Since then, he has been playing one political role or the order, including national chairmanship of SWAGA ’23 since 2020.
He contested twice as governorship aspirant in Ekiti State (2006 and 2018) and lost in controversial primaries. Adeyeye was also nominated twice for appointment as a minister; he lost the first under President Umaru Yar’Adua but was confirmed under Goodluck Jonathan as Minister of State for Works between 2014 and 2015.
That is not all. Adeyeye is a former Executive Chairman of Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), during which he recorded several achievements and won the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) award as the best chairman in the South-West of Nigeria in 2008. The award came along with a cash prize of N70million. He again won the same award in 2009. He used the funds derived from the awards to provide more infrastructures for schools across Ekiti State. That same year, Adeyeye was adjudged the most innovative SUBEB chairman in Nigeria by the Presidential Committee on Schools’ debate.
Adeyeye, who was appointed Pro-Chancellor of Ekiti State University in June 2015, holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Ibadan (1978), and a master’s degree in political science (international relations) from the University of Lagos (1981). He also obtained a law degree from the University of Lagos in 1986 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1987.
I need to go to this extent to tell who the man, Dayo Adeyeye is; so as to justify that he is eminently qualified for the appointment as NPA chairman.
An Ise-Ekiti prince, Adeyeye was born on April 4, 1957, in Ise-Ekiti to the royal family of Oba David Opeyemi Adeyeye, Agunsoye II, the Arinjale of Ise Ekiti (who reigned between 1932 and 1976), and Olori Mary Ojulege Adeyeye, a princess of Are, Ikere-Ekiti.
But Adeyeye must remember his promise: “The president promised a quality board, and he delivered. We are ready to work together as a family and move the port authority forward.”
NPA deserves nothing less. So, Adeyeye must justify the confidence reposed in him by the president.