Iyabo Obasanjo profile, career path, controversies, net worth

Iyabo Obasanjo is a Nigerian academic, epidemiologist and former lawmaker.

She is the daughter of former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo and his wife, Oluremi.

Over the years, she has combined a career in public health with active participation in Nigerian politics.

Background

Iyabo was born on April 27, 1967, in Lagos and attended Corona School in Victoria Island, Capital School in Kaduna and Queen’s College, Lagos.

She studied veterinary medicine at the University of Ibadan, graduating in 1988.

She later moved to the United States, where she obtained a master’s degree in epidemiology from the University of California, Davis, in 1990, and a PhD in the same field from Cornell University in 1994.

Early career

Before entering national politics, Obasanjo served as commissioner for health in Ogun State.

In April 2007, she was elected senator representing Ogun Central Senatorial District on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Her victory was challenged at the election tribunal, but the tribunal upheld her win.

During her time in the Senate, she chaired the Senate Committee on Health and also served on several other committees, including security and intelligence, education, science and technology, and national planning.

She sought re-election in April 2011 but lost to Olugbenga Onaolapo Obadara of the Action Congress of Nigeria, who polled a higher number of votes. This defeat marked the end of her time in the National Assembly.

In April 2003, during the general elections, her vehicle came under gun attack on Ifo Road in Ogun State.

Although she was not inside the car at the time, five people, three adults and two children, lost their lives. Those responsible for the attack were never identified.

Controversies

In 2008, she was investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in connection with unreturned funds from the Federal Ministry of Health.

The matter generated public controversy, with Obasanjo denying wrongdoing and describing the allegations as blackmail. In 2009, the case was dismissed by a High Court in Abuja.

After leaving the Senate, Obasanjo remained active in public debate and politics.

In 2018, she made headlines again after publicly urging the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to heed her father’s advice.

However, in January 2026, she joined the All Progressives Congress in Ogun State, completing her party registration in Ifo Local Government Area.

Academic career

Alongside politics, Obasanjo has maintained an academic career.

She worked in clinical research in the United States and later became a fellow, and then a senior fellow, at Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative.

She currently teaches as an assistant professor in the Department of Health Sciences at the College of William & Mary in the United States.

She has also published academic papers focusing on maternal and child health issues in Ogun State.

Family

In her personal life, Iyabo Obasanjo married Oluwafolajimi Akeem Bello in 1999, but the marriage ended in divorce in 2003.

The union produced one child, Jimi Bello, born in 2000.

Net worth

Iyabo Obasanjo’s estimated net worth could not be accessed as at the time of this post. Gazette Post will keep it updated soon.