By The OGD Media Office released a press statement in response to Governor Dapo Abiodun’s claims which was stated at a private meeting in iperu. This statement according to the OGD Media team was tagged to be built on “fiction” and this was achieved because it was circulated in an environment where it cannot be immediately interrogated.
The first claim by Governor Dapo Abiodun was that he collapsed his own structure to support Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s emergence as Governor of Ogun state in 2021. The second claim was that Governor Dapo Abiodun played a key role to the emergence of Otunba Gbenga Daniel as the Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District in 2023. These two claims prompted the OGD Media team to respond with a long form texts citing historical foundations.
According to the press release, the OGD team acknowledged that the Governor Dapo Abiodun contested for the PDP governorship primaries between 2001 and 2003 of which Senator Otunba Daniel emerged as the party’s candidate. The statement further reads that, Mr Abiodun’s campaign team was the most “vicious” against Otunba Gbenga Daniel.
Furthermore, When OGD was returned as the party’s candidate with a decisive margin of about 90% in the contest held on December 23, 2002. Otunba Gbenga Daniel “engaged all his co-aspirants including Prince Emma Shoda, Omoba Doyin Okupe, Prince Yemi Adefulu and later Dapo Abiodun, in that order with a No victor, No vanquished mindset” the statement reads.
The statement reiterated that Mr Dapo Abiodun was the last to join “this handshake of collaboration”, this happened solely because he acted on his known lifestyle of forcefully recovering his items and funds from those who failed to support him and those who failed to return these items were punished by him.
In addition to the collaboration, Mr Dapo Abiodun was elected as the chairman of the newly formed Gateway Oil and Gas which birthed the establishment of the state’s oil and gas limited liability company. The statement further noted that Mr Dapo Abiodun lost woefully to Senator Buruji Kashamu during the 2015 Ogun East Senatorial District election.
According to the press release, it stated that in 2019, Gbenga Daniel supported Mr Abiodun despite him being a PDP chieftain. At that critical moment “OGD not only mobilized his political structure in support of Mr Abiodun, he also publicly raised his hands in a symbolic show of acceptance before thousands of supporters and members of the media”
OGD not only mobilized his political structure in support of Mr Abiodun, he also publicly raised his hands in a symbolic show of acceptance before thousands of supporters and members of the media”
The statement further explained the events that led to the 2023 senatorial contests. It was noted that Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel won the Ogun East Senatorial election on the “strength of his name, his legacy”, the statement from Governor Dapo Abiodun playing a key role in the emergence of Senator Gbenga Daniel was ascribed not only on false but an insult to every voter in Ogun East Senatorial District.
The statement further emphasized that there were no frontrunners to which Governor Abiodun convinced to step down. “A man who arrives after the contest to claim credit for its outcome is not a kingmaker; he is a latecomer attempting to rewrite history” it added.
Moreso, when Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel was elected as the Senator of the Ogun East, “he toured all 103 wards of Ogun East Senatorial District and held 13 local government rallies across the nine LGAs”, it was duly noted that Governor Dapo Abiodun did not attend any of his campaign programs despite his claims of support.
Moreso, Governor Dapo Abiodun was accused of instructing all government officials and APC members to stay away from the OGD senatorial campaign and empowerment program held at Ita Oba Akarigbo, Sagamu, on October 2, 2022. “The civil servants who attended were subsequently issued queries for participating in what was clearly a political event held on a Sunday” the statement noted.
The statement ask further questions on structure and mandate, the question of how the Governor Abiodun’s structure that failed to deliver his own ward and polling unit for the presidential election in 2023. It further noted that Senator Daniel’s victory was “unprecedented” in Ogun State senatorial history. It was said to be devoid of court cases, single petition and the election margin was historic.
The statement also emphasized that Governor Dapo Abiodun had allegedly deployed all means to intimidate party leaders and systematically frustrate Senator Daniel out of the party but “these effort failed because Senator Daniel’s political roots in Ogun state run deeper than the temporary leverage of any sitting governor”
However, the statement noted that Governor Dapo Abiodun relied on “backroom arrangements, forced consensus and closed-door manoeuvering” to propel his political ambitions.
It was further noted that Senator Daniel wasn’t built on any retroactive endorsement but on independent patronage.
The statement noted that “the Governor should address the substance of public concerns rather than attributing every critical report to political opponents”,
