The rift between Governor Dapo Abiodun and the Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, deepened yesterday as the state government accused the senator of opposing the same consensus arrangement that paved the way for his emergence as the district's senatorial candidate in 2023.
Daniel, despite the unanimous endorsement of Abiodun by some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the zone as the party's consensus candidate for the senatorial seat, still went ahead to obtain the party's nomination and expression of interest forms to contest for a return to the Senate in the 2027 elections.
As of Tuesday, party leaders formally presented and endorsed the governor as the consensus candidate of the zone for the 2027 senatorial election, describing the endorsement as a collective decision aimed at ensuring quality representation and sustaining party unity in the district.
However, Daniel argued that only a transparent and credible primary could settle the tussle between him and Abiodun to clinch the senatorial ticket of the party, expressing confidence that he would beat the governor in a free and fair primary election. “Without any doubt, in a free and fair primary, I will not just win, I will win overwhelmingly,” he said.
But, speaking on the development yesterday, the Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to the Governor, Kayode Akinmade, accused the former governor of demonising the same process of consensus arrangement that made him a senator simply because it no longer aligns with his personal ambition. Akinmade expressed shock that Daniel could resort to what he described as “cheap propaganda and outright falsehood” against the decision of the party because of his personal ambition after immensely benefiting from the consensus arrangement that made him a senator in 2023.
“Daniel is simply fighting the same consensus arrangement and party structure that produced him as senator in 2023. It is shocking that someone who benefited immensely from the collective decision of the party is now demonising the same process simply because it no longer aligns with his personal ambition,” Akinmade said.
“The governor ensured a peaceful consensus arrangement that paved the way for Daniel's emergence as the APC senatorial candidate. It is therefore ironic that the same individual now seeks to discredit the party and its leadership merely because he could not have his way politically,” he added.
Akinmade urged the people of the state, particularly in Ijebuland from Ogun East Senatorial District, to remain appreciative of the developmental strides of the Abiodun administration, especially in infrastructure renewal and road rehabilitation. “Everybody in the state, especially in Ijebuland, appreciates the modest achievements of Governor Dapo Abiodun. Most of the deplorable roads abandoned by previous administrations have now been fixed, while about 29 major road projects have been completed in Ijebu Ode alone,” he said.
The SA also faulted the former governor's comparison of federal allocations received during his tenure as governor with those accruing to the current administration, accusing him of deliberately ignoring prevailing economic realities and the sharp depreciation of the naira.
