Broward County’s new Tax Collector, Abiodun “Abbey” Ajayi, used her county office, email, and other government resources to promote her 2024 campaign—despite repeated warnings to keep her political activity separate from her official job, according to a report released by the Broward Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
Ajayi—a Nigerian American and Democrat—who served as the Operations Manager for the County’s Records, Taxes and Treasury (RTT) Division during the campaign, is accused of participating in two political podcasts from her county office. One of them took place during work hours, without time off or prior approval.
“Our investigation substantiated that allegation, and we found probable cause to believe that Ms. Ajayi engaged in misconduct during her successful election campaign, as her actions ran afoul of prohibitions in state criminal law and local law,” the OIG wrote in the May 21 final report.
During one of the video podcasts recorded after hours, Ajayi also solicited campaign donations while inside a county-owned building—a violation of Florida statutes, according to the report.
“These acts implicated state laws that make campaigning for elective office during work hours and soliciting for contributions within a government-owned building first-degree misdemeanors,” the report states.
The Inspector General’s Office also found that Ajayi used her Broward County email account for campaign-related business on 44 occasions.
“By using the County email system and her County office and equipment for campaign-related activity, Ms. Ajayi ran afoul of County policy prohibitions against using County resources for activity related to seeking elected office,” the report continues.
Ajayi filed to run for Tax Collector in May 2023 and was elected on August 20, 2024. She was officially sworn in on January 7, 2025. She had been with the RTT Division since 2015 and was promoted to Operations Manager in 2019.
While the OIG said her actions met the definition of “misconduct,” they clarified: “Although we determined that Ms. Ajayi’s actions amounted to misconduct, we did not determine that she corruptly misused her official position as proscribed by Section 112.313(6), Florida Statutes.”
The matter has now been referred to the Broward County State Attorney’s Office and the Florida Elections Commission for further review. The report also notes that the County Code violation will be handled by an administrative hearing officer.
