Former Ogun State Governor and Senator, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has publicly responded to statements made by incumbent Governor Dapo Abiodun, offering a detailed account of their political history and dismissing claims attributed to the governor as “mischief and outright falsehoods.”
In a lengthy exposition issued in reaction to a video recording credited to Governor Abiodun, Daniel said he had maintained “a stoic silence” on political matters out of respect for the overall interest of the Ijebu heritage, but chose to address the issue in order to set the record straight.
Daniel revisited the 2002 Peoples Democratic Party governorship primaries in Abeokuta, where he emerged victorious with 178 votes out of 250, far ahead of other contestants, including Abiodun, who secured 32 votes. According to him, the outcome disproved efforts by rivals who believed he would fail to secure the required threshold for victory.
He further rejected suggestions that Abiodun handed over any political structure to him at the time, insisting that such support instead came from the late Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye and other notable figures within the party.
Daniel also recounted political events spanning the 2003 elections, the 2015 senatorial contest, and the 2019 governorship race, portraying himself as someone who repeatedly extended support to Abiodun despite alleged betrayals and political differences.
He disclosed that in 2015, despite claims that Abiodun had worked behind the scenes against his senatorial ambition, he still instructed his loyalists to support the governor’s campaign.
On the 2019 governorship election, Daniel said his intervention, at the request of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other party leaders, played a role in Abiodun’s narrow electoral victory.
The former governor also addressed issues surrounding his business interests, alleging unlawful actions against his properties and recounting incidents he described as signs of hostility from the current administration.
Daniel dismissed claims that Abiodun facilitated his movement into the All Progressives Congress, listing several national party leaders who, according to him, encouraged his decision independently.
He concluded by reaffirming that he bore no personal grudge over his past legal battles, noting that his eventual acquittal by the Court of Appeal vindicated him fully.
The statement is widely seen as one of Daniel’s most comprehensive political responses in recent years and is likely to reignite public debate over the longstanding rivalry between two of Ogun State’s most prominent political figures.
By Folake Sokoya
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