[1][2][3] It was established as Obafemi Awolowo University, Ado-Ekiti on 30 March 1982 by the administration of Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, the first civilian governor of Ondo State.

[12] The university started off in a modest way from an old catering rest house in Akure and moved to a temporary site in Ado-Ekiti where lectures started soon after with 136 students spread across the Faculties of Arts, Science and Social Sciences.

[6] During the 1983/84 session, new courses were established to strengthen the existing faculties; these included geology, biology, chemistry, French, Yoruba studies, philosophy, religious studies, political science and psychology.

[6] In the 1985/86 session, the Faculty of Engineering (Civil, Mechanical and Electrical) and a Department of Banking and Finance were established.

[16] In view of the policy decisions taken by the Ondo government, the government of Ekiti State took over the ownership, administrative control and funding of the Ondo State University at Ado-Ekiti and enacted a law to rename it the University of Ado-Ekiti.

The Ekiti government also took steps to ensure that all records and properties of the university remained intact.

Part of the decisions taken at the summit were to merge the three state-owned universities as a single public institution.

Subsequently, the National Universities Commission in Abuja licensed the University consolidating all the assets and records of the three universities as one institution[19] In the last 30 years, philanthropists have maduniversity uhtions to the physical development of the university such as Dr. Lawrence Omolayo who donated the administrative block consisting of 271 offices, Aare Afe Babalola (Senior Advocate of Nigeria), constructed and furnished a 350-seat law auditorium, Dr. Ahmed Aliyu Mustapha built a 400-seat lecture theatre while Ado-Ekiti community built the administrative block for the Faculty of Law.

[13][20] The Education Trust Fund constructed a 1,200–seat and a 750–seat lecture theatre, a new library complex, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences office complex, new Faculties of Social Sciences, Arts and Education offices.

[12] The university has a limited number of residential and sports facilities for staff and students within and outside the main Campus.