Ondo State was created on February 3, 1976 by the former Military Head of State, the late Gen. Murtala Muhammed. Between then and now, the state has been governed by 11 military administrators and five elected governors. Governor Rotimi Akeredolu is the sixth elected governor of the state. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI profiles the governors; from pioneer military governor Ita Ikpeme, to Akeredolu.
Ita David Ikpeme, an airforce officer, served as the first Governor of Ondo State, Ondo State was carved out of the defunct Western State on February 3, 1976 during the military regime of Olusegun Obasanjo. The state originally included what is now Ekiti State. During his tenure as governor, Ikpeme initiated road construction in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
In December 1985, he was named as a suspect in a coup plot against the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida.
Isijolomi Tuoyo
Isijolomi Tuoyo, a retired Brigadier-General, served as the Military Governor of Ondo State between July 1978 and October 1979, during the military regime of Obasanjo. He is of Itsekiri origin. His son-in-law, Emmanuel Uduaghan, was the governor of Delta State between May 2007 and May 2015.
Adekunle Ajasin
Michael Adekunle Ajasin (November 28, 1908 to October 3, 1997) was governor of Ondo State in the Second Republic between October 1979 and October 1983. He was elected on the platform of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).
He was a leader of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which was formed to bring an end to the military government of Sani Abacha and to reclaim the mandate given to the late MKO Abiola. In 1995, he was arrested by the Abacha military junta, along with 39 other activists for holding an illegal political meeting.
Ajasin was also involved in pre-independence politics.
Bamidele Otiko
Commodore Michael Bamidele Otiko (1934 to 1999) was appointed Military Governor of Ondo State from January 1984 to September 1985 during the military regime of General Mohammadu Buhari. He was blamed for the detention of former deputy governor of Ondo State, Akin Omoboriowo, for 16 months.
Okhai Akhigbe
Vice Admiral Michael Okhai Akhigbe served as Military Governor of Ondo State from 1985 to 1986. Akhigbe was born on September 29, 1946, in Fugar, Etsako Central Local Government Area of Edo State.
Ekundayo Opaleye
Major General Ekundayo Opaleye (retd) was Governor of Ondo State, from August 1986 to December 1987 during the military regime of General Babangida. Prior to his appointment as governor, he was a member of a Special Military Tribunal set up in 1986 to try officers accused of plotting a coup against Babangida in December 1985.
Bode George
Former National Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, was Military Governor of Ondo State between July 1988 and September 1990.
Abiodun Olukoya
Sunday Abiodun Olukoya, a retired Navy Captain, was Military Administrator of the state from September 1990 to January 1992 during the military regime of Babangida. He retired as a Rear Admiral in November 2009.
Bamidele Olumilua
Bamidele Olumilua governed the state as an elected governor during the aborted Fourth Republic from January 1992 to November 1993. He was elected on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He was forced to leave office when the military regime of the late General Sani Abacha sacked the Interim National Government led By Chief Ernest Sonekan. His deputy governor was Olusegun Agagu, who later became Governor of Ondo State from May 2003 until February 2009.
Mike Torey
Mike Torey, a retired army colonel, was Military Administrator of Ondo State from December 1993 to September 1994 during the military regime of the late General Abacha. He died on November 16, 2013, after a brief illness.
Ahmed Usman
Colonel Ahmed Usman was the Military Administrator of Ondo State between September 1994 and August 1996 during the Abacha military regime.
Anthony Onyearugbulem
Anthony Ibe Onyearugbulem (1955 to 2002), a Navy captain, served as the Military Administrator of Ondo State between August 1996 and August 1998, during the Abacha regime. As Administrator, he caused resentment among the Auga people by presenting the staff of office to the Alani of Idoani, a person said by some to have no royal blood. His administration is remembered for undertaking extensive road works in the state.
Moses Fasanya
Moses Fasanya a Colonel from Ibadan, Oyo State, was the Military Administrator of Ondo State between August 1998 and May 1999. He served during the military regime of the late General Abacha.
Adebayo Adefarati
Adebayo Adefarati (February 14, 1931 to March 29, 2007) was governor of Ondo State between May 1999 and May 2003. Prior to being elected governor on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Adefarati was a prominent member of NADECO. He was defeated when he ran for re-election in 2003.
Olusegun Agagu
Olusegun Kokumo Agagu (February 16, 1948 to September 13, 2013) governed the state between May 2003 and February 2009. His election for second term was later voided by a court, on account of electoral irregularities. He was replaced by Olusegun Mimiko, his political rival, based on a court injunction.
He died on September 13, 2013 in Lagos.
Olusegun Mimiko
Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who was born October 3, 1954, is the outgoing governor. He was elected for his first term on April 14, 2007 on the platform of the Labour Party (LP). But, the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Agagu the winner of the election. Mimiko contested this decision at the election tribunal and was adjudged winner at the tribunal and the Court of Appeal on February 23, 2009. The Appeal Court, upheld the decision of the court of first instance, citing massive irregularities, and ordered that Agagu be replaced by Mimiko as governor.
He contested for a second term on October 2012 on LP platform and won. This makes him the first governor to win a second term election in Ondo State.
On Thursday October 2, 2014, Mimiko officially defected to the PDP from the LP.
Rotimi Akeredolu
On Sunday, 27 November last year, INEC declared Rotimi Akeredolu as the winner of the November 26 governorship election in Ondo. Akeredolu, who was born on July 21, 1956, contested and lost the 2012 election on the ticket of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and lost. The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) was elected president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in 2008. He had served as the Attorney General of Ondo State from 1997 to 1999.
