Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji was born on December 21, 1967, in Ikogosi-Ekiti, and served as the Secretary to the Government of Ekiti State. He began his academic journey at Baptist Primary School, Ikogosi-Ekiti.
He attended Awo Community High School before transferring to C.A.C. Grammar School, Efon-Alaaye, Ekiti State in 1979, and later attended the Federal School of Arts and Science, Ondo State, and the District Commercial Secondary School, Aramoko-Ekiti from 1983 to 1985.
He acquired a Bachelor of Science (BSc.) degree in Political Science
from the Ondo State University (now Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti)
in 1989 and continued his quest for honours at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State in 1992 where he bagged his Masters’ Degree (M.Sc) in Political Science (International Relations & Strategic Studies).
Oyebanji started his professional career as a Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Ado Ekiti, where he worked for four years (1993 – 1997) and later proceeded to work as Manager, Treasury, and Financial Services at the defunct Omega Bank
Plc (now Heritage Bank) till May 1999.
He began his political career as a special assistant on parliamentary
affairs to Niyi Adebayo, the state’s first elected governor, in 1999
and then later became the chief of staff in the latter stage of the
administration in 2003.
Then the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Ayodele Fayose came into power, and Oyebanji was on a six-year hiatus from public service. He returned in 2009 but as the chairman of the governing board, citizenship and leadership training centre, federal ministry of youth and sports development — a position he held from June 2009 to December 2010.
After a court ruling sacked Segun Oni of PDP in 2009 and Kayode Fayemi was elected governor in 2010, Oyebanji was first appointed the commissioner for integration and inter-governmental affairs before he was tapped to head Ekiti’s office of transformation strategy and delivery (OTSD) a year later.
He was then named the commissioner for budget, and economic planning in 2013 and held the position till October 2014.
In 2018, after Fayemi was elected for a second term, Oyebanji got back
into public service and was appointed secretary to the state government (SSG), a position he held until he resigned to join the governorship race in late 2021.
In his quest to become Ekiti governor, Oyebanji had the backing of Fayemi, which fuelled speculations of an imposition on the state. The claims gained louder decibels during the build-up to the APC governorship primary, where seven aspirants withdrew from the poll over the allegation that the election committee was made up of
loyalists of Fayemi.
