Ekiti State University of Ado Ekiti (EKSU) was established as Obafemi Awolowo University, Ado-Ekiti on 30 March 1982 by the administration of late Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, the First Civilian Governor of Ondo State. The university is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. It is located about 12 minutes drive from the center of the city of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State in Western Nigeria.
Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, as it is known today, was at inception in 1982 a pride to itself as a University sought after and as of today, the only university in Nigeria that has within a quarter of a century had its name changed four times. The name was changed to Ondo State University in 1985, University of Ado-Ekiti in November 1999, and to its present name Ekiti State University of Ado Ekiti in September 2011.