PHOTOS: Ex-Oyo Commissioner, Muyiwa Gbadegesin, Resumes As LAWMA DG

During the administration of former governor Bola Tinubu, he was senior special assistant for technology and special projects.

This newspaper also recalls that apart from playing active parts in Buhari/Osinbajo  campaign, he was also a member of the transition committee that ushered in Governor Sanwoolu.

Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin advises governments, organizations and companies on strategy, policy, and innovation in the African environment.

Dr. Gbadegesin served as an advisor to two successive governors of Lagos State (Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Mr. Babatunde Fashola). He later served in Oyo State Government as Special Adviser, Commissioner for Health and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor.

During his time in Lagos State Government as a Senior Special Assistant for Technology and Special Projects, Dr Gbadegesin led the restructuring of the Property Identification Exercise (PIE) and Land Use Charge (LUC) billing system. This project expanded the PIE database to 250,000 properties while doubling the revenue to NGN350 million in the first year.  

He also led the implementation of the Land Registry Computerization project which involved scanning and archiving of 12 million pages of land title documents into an electronic document management system, the first of its kind in Nigeria.  

As Director of the Land Information Systems Support Unit, Dr. Gbadegesin ensured acquisition and processing of new satellite imagery for Lagos State and creation of the geo-database that was essential to the state’s tax generation program.  

Dr. Gbadegesin established linkages with many development partners including the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) from which he secured significant donor support for the Land Registry Computerization Project.  In order to ensure adoption of best practices across the nation, he secured opportunities for Lagos Land Bureau staff to serve as trainers for other state land registries who were interested in learning from the new system in Lagos. 

Among other achievements in Lagos State Government, Dr Gbadegesin chaired the Technical Committee for the 2006 World Leadership Awards that took place in London.  At this competition, Lagos State surprised a strong field of global cities to win in three categories including Science and Technology.

Dr. Gbadegesin established a reputation as a political strategist as a member of first Alliance for Democracy and its successor parties Action Congress and Action Congress of Nigeria.  He pioneered the usage of technology in politics particularly in election monitoring. During the seminal 2007 elections, Dr. Gbadegesin designed and implemented an SMS-based automated QuickCount system that was able to receive, process and tabulate real-time election results  from close to18,000 party polling agents at over 9,000 polling units across the state.  This system enabled Action Congress of Nigeria to independently collate election results, project victory and quickly transit to a vote protection mode. Versions of this system have been used in almost every election since.

As Commissioner of Health in Oyo State, Dr. Gbadegesin established the first statewide Ambulance Service while initiation a drive for universal health coverage by establishing the Oyo State Health Insurance Scheme through a newly established State Health Insurance Agency. Before he became the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Gbadegesin served for 3 months as a Special Adviser, during which time he led the establishment of the Oyo State Signage and Advertising Agency (OYSAA) and the Oyo State Land Use Charge (OYSLUC).

Dr. Gbadegesin chaired the Research and Strategy Committee for Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s historic second term election victory. He also coordinated the Oyo State operations of the Southwest Presidential Campaign led by then Vice-Presidential Candidate and Current Vice-President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.

Dr. Gbadegesin holds a doctorate degree in Neuroscience from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, from Howard University, Washington, DC