Olugbenga Daniel

Olugbenga Daniel Biography / Profile

Otunba Olugbenga Daniel was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria on April 6th, 1956 to Rt. Rev. Adebola Daniel of Makun Sagamu and Madam Olaitan Daniel, of Omu Ijebu, Ogun State.

Olugbenga Daniel Age

Olugbenga Daniel is 68 years old.

Olugbenga Daniel Early Life

Daniel attended the Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta from 1969 to 1973. He represented the school in debates and quiz competitions – a factor which made him exceptionally popular among his contemporaries and stimulated his inclination towards intellectual pursuits. This was followed by studies at the Polytechnic, Ibadan, and the School of Engineering of the University of Lagos, where he won several laurels and become acquainted with the legendary Professor Ayodele Awojobi.

He was to proceed to earn a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Lagos and subsequently attended Lagos Business School for an executive programme.

Olugbenga Daniel Career

Daniel became a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers. He taught briefly as a lecturer in the School of Engineering of Lagos State Polytechnic. In 1983, he obtained a job with Schroeder (W.A.) Limited, Lagos, rising to Deputy managing director becoming the first African to hold that position in the history of the company. He left Schroeder to start his own business. In 1990 he founded Kresta Laurel, an engineering firm specialising in elevators, overhead travelling cranes and hoists. He established Kresta Laurel in 1990, believing in the ability of Nigerian engineers to hold their own in the horizontal and vertical moving engineering industry in the country. He also owns the Nigerian Compass, a daily newspaper.

Danie was elected governor of Ogun State in April 2003, running on the PDP platform. He acquired the chiefly title Otunba of the Egba clan of the state during the course of his first term. On assumption of office as Governor of Ogun State, the first priority on his mind was how to transform the state from a Civil Service state to an industrial economy. In August 2006, the website Elundu Reports published what it claimed to be evidence that Daniel had obtained two houses in London after being sworn in as Governor.

He anchored his development objectives on a number of key blueprints with which he drove his government. He launched his manifesto, entitled “Contract with Ogun People”, the 16-page manifesto touched on all aspects of development and what the new government under Governor Daniel wanted to achieve. In terms of people-oriented programmes, Governor Daniel restored hope, rehabilitated infrastructure, re-engineered institutions and firmly put in place an agenda of modernizing the State. He was reelected in April 2007. His April 2007 election was disputed by rival candidate Ibikunle Amosun of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP), but in August 2009 the Ogun State Election Petitions Tribunal dismissed the petition.

He is the author of the book Turning Vision Into Reality: Selected Speeches of Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Executive Governor of Ogun State.

Olugbenga Daniel Personal Life

Daniel is married to Yeye Olufunke Daniel, and has five children namely Rotimi, Adebola, Taiwo and Kehinde (a set of twins), and Oluwamayowa. In August 2016, his son Adebola Daniel, begun a foundation to press for equity and fairness to the physically challenged individuals in Nigeria.