The 28-year-old finished ahead of Mali's Seydou Keita and Ghanaian Andre 'Dede' Ayew in polling by national coaches of the 53-member associations of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The full tally of votes was not immediately released by CAF, African football's governing body.
"This award is not important for me alone. It's for my country and for my club," he said.
"This is a big step in my career, I'm very thrilled. To be the winner is fantastic."
He scored the winning goal in Manchester City's 1-0 victory over Stoke City in the FA Cup final and this season has impressed in his club's rise to the top of the Premier League.
The Ivorians were the only side to win every game in the preliminaries for the 2012 finals and are among the favourites for next month's competition in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
