Ahead of the 2027 elections, the cold war between Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and former Governor Gbenga Daniel may soon rear its head as both of them have their eyes on the Ogun East Senatorial District seat, Sunday Telegraph can report.
This is even as the battle for who becomes Abiodun’s successor takes the centre stage with the Ogun Central set to take a shot at the coveted seat once again, while the internal division between the Ogun West Senatorial aspirants may once again be their nemesis.
Sources confided in the Sunday Telegraph said that the battle between Dapo Abiodun and Senator Gbenga Daniel will overshadow the battle for Oke Mosan, as the Governor’s office is called.
“The battle that will also overshadow the gubernatorial election is the cold war between the Ogun State governor and the Senator representing Ogun East – Gbenga Daniel, and of course, it is obvious that the two of them are looking at the same seat in 2027. That is the one currently occupied by Gbenga Daniel,” one of the Sources said.
The Source continued: “Gbenga Daniel is not a pushover; it is obvious that the governor with the power of incumbency is not a pushover. He wants to transition from gubernatorial to becoming the senator of that region based on what we have seen, and of course, in Gbenga Daniel, he will find a formidable foe.
“Some of their aides have been trading insults, the agents of state demolished parts of a building belonging to the wife of the former governor in Ijebu–Ode.”
On Sunday, September 09, 2023, residents of Ijebu–Ode woke up to find some parts of the five-story building, DATKEM Plaza, owned by Olufunke Daniel, the wife of Gbenga Daniel, being demolished by the agents of the state.
This, the Gbenga Daniel camp believed was done to spite Gbenga Daniel and to show him that there is a governor in Ogun State. “That he has been carrying on as if he does not know that there is a governor. So, they have to show that. That is the interpretation in Gbenga Daniel’s camp,” volunteered one of the aides of the former governor.
“Of course, the interesting thing is that the two of them are in APC. Will one leave the party for another and then fight? Will the two of them support the same candidate? , The source asked rhetorically.
However, there are also some insinuations that there could be a grand coalition in the gubernatorial race, while everyone supports the president.
Sunday Telegraph reported that even within Ogun West, there are rumblings from within. “One would have thought that it would be cohesive because they have lost it severally due to infighting,” said an insider in the government of the day.
“In 2011, when it was almost certain that someone from that place would get it in a person called GNI (Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka), suddenly, the (Olusegun)Obasanjo factor came in and General Adetunji Olurin (rtd) became the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), because one man called Buruji Kashamu kicked and went to Court, his faction was declared as the legitimate PDP and in anger, GNI who was being massively supported by the Gbenga Daniel political machinery, formed another party – PPN (People’s Party of Nigeria) and they went into the election,” the Source added.
Further, the Source said: “The number of votes scored by both men from Yewa – Olurin and GNI was more than that of Ibikunle Amosun of the ACN then. That was how they lost it. They lost it again in 2015 because two of them also contested.”
Senator Ibikunle Amosun, then of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), polled 377,487 votes to emerge the winner. Olurin of the PDP came second with 188,698, while Isiaka had 137,051 votes to place third. They were not able to garner enough support.
The Egba have produced Olusegun Osoba, and they have produced Ibikunle Amosun. The East has produced Gbenga Daniel, Dapo Abiodun. Gbenga Daniel did it, Dapo Abiodun is doing it. Osoba did 4 years; Amosun did 8 years. 12 + 16 that is 30 or 28 as it were.
“Meanwhile, they have not done anything. Now that they are in the West, we understand there is a rumble. One person is just looking, but everybody knows that he will contest, and that is GNI again in the same party.
“The way it is going, it will create a clear division in the Yewa land,” another Source said. “It is like the other sections are waiting, particularly the Egba. They are like if they do not get their acts together, it will be a repeat of what happened in 2011.
Those in Egba land that are ready, the very ready person is the man called Tayese of Egbaland, former Nigerian High Commissioner to the Court of Saint James UK, former secretary to the state government, former Minister of Power and Steel, and former chairman of local government, a grassroots politician to the core. He is Sarafa Isola. He is ready, and everybody is looking in his direction. He is moving, and he has not hidden his readiness to throw his hat into the ring.
“The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, is also interested in running.
Besides, there are also some factors that will play major roles. Mr. President, who people say is looking at Senator Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi). That is why his confidence is coming from. Now, a tree cannot make a forest. One of the things that Yayi has done, some feel, he has started early in the day, and he is concentrating his campaign in Ogun West as if it is only Ogun West that will vote in the governorship election.”
“Another issue is whether we like it or not, the PDP is all but dead in Ogun State. Someone who was in PDP, including some gubernatorial candidates in 2011, 2015, and 2019, who ran on a different party, encouraged by Ibikunle Amosun, who was the gubernatorial candidate in 2015, a deputy gubernatorial candidate in 2019 under the PDP in 2023, has also defected back to the APC. The guy, who was a leader of the PDP has also brought a lot of people back to the APC.
“The PDP is looking like no option, and all eyes are on APC. So, many things will play out. Some people are saying that because of the caliber of people, who want to take part in APC, there could be confusion, crisis, and then one or two of them may defect to another party to run.”
