By Ayodele Oni
The battle for the 2027 Ogun East Senatorial ticket between former Governor Gbenga Daniel and incumbent Governor Dapo Abiodun is getting messier as the camps of both actors trade accusations over party loyalty.
While Daniel currently occupies the seat and wants a second term, Abiodun, who will complete his second term as governor in 2025, also wants the seat.
The APC has since adopted Abiodun as its consensus candidate for the senatorial district.
However, Governor Abiodun has accused Senator Daniel of appearing to have left the mainstream of the All Progressives Congress, ( APC), with what he described as “stylish support” for the Peoples Democratic Party, ( PDP), governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu.
Speaking through his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, the governor said he was advised against supporting Daniel’s senatorial bid in 2023 because of fears he would eventually turn against him.
“Despite the warnings, I supported Daniel because I respected him as a former governor and because I believe political disagreements should not diminish the respect accorded former occupants of the office.
“I just decided that we should honour him because one day, I will also become a former governor,”
Abiodun made the allegation while receiving some members of Daniel’s political family and the late Buruji Kashamu’s group into the APC at the Presidential Lodge, Abeokuta.
He added that Daniel once expressed uncertainty over who would emerge as governor despite the contestant being from his own party.
“Now the gloves are off. He is the same person that we heard in an audio saying he had taken someone to court,” the governor said.
Abiodun also expressed concern over the recent reunion of Daniel’s Gateway Front Foundation, where Adebutu was a special guest of honour.
He said the development suggested the former governor had chosen to operate outside the APC, despite his status as a respected leader in Ogun State.
The governor explained that his relationship with Daniel has always been guided by respect for the office, but warned that power must be used responsibly.
“You don’t begin to act as if you are God. You don’t begin to play as if you are an emperor. God gives us power and looks at how we use it.
“If you utilise it well, God will leave it with you. If you abuse it, God will take it away and give it to somebody else,” he stated.
Daniel’s loyalists under the OGD Loyal Coordinators Forum dismissed Abiodun’s claims.
In a statement signed by Kolade Segun-Okeowo, Yekeen Adesanya and Jide Onadeko, they said those who defected to Abiodun did so in their personal capacity.
“The OGD movement is intact, organised, and focused. Attempts to present a handful of individuals as representing an entire political family are misleading and do not reflect the reality on the ground,” the forum said, pledging unwavering loyalty to Daniel.
Daniel’s media aide, Steve Oliyide, also denied any “relaunch” of a foundation, saying it was only a reunion to plan the 25th anniversary of Gateway Front Foundation.
He added that Adebutu was an old member of the foundation.
The media office further described a circulating audio allegedly involving Daniel as “manipulated and doctored,” saying law enforcement and legal teams had been engaged.
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