Loyalists of former Ogun State Governor and Senator representing Ogun East, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, have rejected the purported endorsement of Governor Dapo Abiodun as the All Progressives Congress consensus candidate for the 2027 Ogun East Senate race.
They described the process as a carefully orchestrated exclusion of their principal and his supporters.
The loyalists, under the aegis of the BATOGD Movement, said the meeting tagged “Ogun East APC caucus meeting,” during which Abiodun was announced as the party’s consensus senate candidate, was in fact a gathering organised exclusively by the governor’s loyalists, in violation of the party’s guidelines on consensus candidate emergence.
Addressing journalists at the Sagamu GRA private residence of Daniel, the spokesperson of the group, retired General Olumuyiwa Okunowo, said members who were legitimately qualified to attend were turned away at the venue, the Adeola Odutola Hall in Ijebu Ode, on Monday.
“Some of our members who were eminently qualified to attend according to the Notice of Invitation were told pointedly to leave the venue, with the explanation that ‘this is a DA show’ and could be attended only by loyalists of the governor,” Okunowo said.
He said the group had no objection to the governor’s supporters holding their own meeting, but took exception to the use of the party’s name to disguise what he described as a premeditated agenda.
“We do not deny them their right to hold their own show, and we believe this must account for why our leader, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, was denied access to a ‘DA Show.’ No ill feeling, but they should have been bold enough to make the notifications clear about their true intention, rather than using the name of our great party to drag our leaders into ratifying a premeditated show,” he said.
Okunowo also raised alarm over what he described as a security siege on Daniel’s Ijebu Ode residence on Wednesday, saying armoured vehicles and hundreds of police officers were deployed around the property without any justification.
“We are deeply surprised by this turn of events, as we see no reason to warrant the deployment of armoured vehicles and detachments of security forces in their hundreds,” he said.
He called on security agencies to remain fair to all parties and not allow themselves to be used as instruments of political intimidation.
“We need to emphasise that we are running a democracy in Nigeria, and we are law-abiding citizens. We call on all security agencies to take a cue from the President’s posture by being fair to all and not allowing themselves to be used as tools in desperate hands to deny the freedom and rights of others,” Okunowo said.
Former Chairman of Ijebu North East Local Government, Otunba Tayo Onayemi, also questioned the legality of the process, saying, “Consensus, as recognised by law, must be based on voluntary agreement by all aspirants. Has the governor formally declared? Has he obtained nomination forms? Without these steps, there is no consensus.”
Also, former Commissioner Akogun Kola Onadipe argued that due process was ignored, saying, “Consensus requires that all aspirants willingly agree and endorse the candidate in writing. If one person disagrees, the party must conduct direct primaries. What happened on Monday falls short of these requirements.”
However, the APC Publicity Secretary, Femi Nuberu, dismissed the allegations, insisting that the Monday meeting was properly constituted and that all decisions taken were legal and binding.
“The meeting was called by the senatorial chairman of the party, the senatorial organ of the party was seated and took decisions on behalf of the senatorial leadership, and somebody is sitting somewhere saying it’s a kangaroo — it is that person that actually doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Nuberu said.
On the allegation that Daniel was barred from the venue, the Publicity Secretary said no such report had been brought before the party, and advised any aggrieved member to formally file a complaint with the party leadership.
Recall that leaders and stakeholders of the APC in Ogun East Senatorial District have on Monday endorsed Abiodun as their consensus candidate for the 2027 senatorial election.
The endorsement was announced at a well-attended gathering held at Adeola Odutola Hall in Ijebu-Ode, bringing together a broad coalition of party leaders and grassroots representatives from across the district.
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