Chief ’Bade Gboyega, JP (Late)
Advocate • Distinguished Administrator
Late Chief ’Bade Gboyega, JP—lawyer; former Secretary to the Ekiti State Government; retired Permanent Secretary; and Chairman of several boards in the old Ondo and Ekiti States—was a distinguished administrator and devoted community leader. A Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management, he was widely respected for administrative excellence, integrity, and commitment to good governance. During his service, he opened doors for many indigenes of Isan-Ekiti to enter public service at State and Local Government levels; several later rose to Director and Permanent Secretary ranks.
A hero’s journey of service
Chief ’Bade Gboyega was the kind of leader whose life made the word “service” feel alive. Born on in Isan-Ekiti, Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State, he grew up in a community that became the canvas for his greatest acts of devotion. He was a husband and a father, and long before the titles and offices came, he learned the value of duty, discipline, and dignity.
His path began at St. Paul’s Primary School, Isan-Ekiti, then St. Luke’s College, Ibadan (1963–1965). He earned an LLB (Hons) at the University of Lagos (1969–1972) and was called to the Bar after Law School in Lagos. He later studied at the University of Connecticut (1981) and obtained postgraduate diplomas in Journalism and Theology—an uncommon blend that shaped a public servant who could reason with rigor, communicate with clarity, and lead with conscience.
In August 1972, he joined the Civil Service in Ibadan, building a reputation for steadiness under pressure and fairness without fear. He rose to Permanent Secretary, Director-General, and Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission in the old Ondo State. In Ekiti State, he served as Chairman, Civil Service Commission, and later as Secretary to the State Government under His Excellency, Governor Ayo Fayose—offices he treated as instruments of impact.
His leadership was simple: results without noise, people before politics. He invested time, counsel, and resources in the growth of Isan-Ekiti and the broader Ekiti homeland. The community honored him with the title Otunba of Isan-Ekiti, which he carried with grace.
Education sharpened his mind. Law trained his judgment. Journalism honed his voice. Theology steadied his soul. Woven together, they formed a leader who could negotiate policy in the morning, comfort a neighbor at noon, and inspire a room by evening.
Chief ’Bade Gboyega passed on , but his legacy endures in the lives he enabled and the institutions he strengthened—choosing responsibility over convenience, service over spectacle, and legacy over limelight.