Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel has broken his silence on the controversy surrounding his alleged suspension from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State, claiming that Governor Dapo Abiodun is behind the move to edge him out of the party ahead of the 2027 senatorial race.
The lawmaker representing Ogun East Senatorial District made the allegation during a press briefing at his Asoludero Court residence in the Government Reservation Area (GRA), Sagamu, where he addressed what he described as a sustained campaign of political persecution against him.
Speaking through his aide, Mr. Steve Oliyide, the former Ogun State governor told journalists that the suspension lacks constitutional validity, noting that he was never formally informed of any allegations, invited to any investigative panel, or served with an official suspension letter.
Daniel’s legal counsel, Professor Yemi Oke (SAN), disclosed that a formal letter had been sent to the APC Ogun State chapter requesting official documents regarding the alleged suspension.
The former governor, who governed Ogun State from 2003 to 2011, insisted that the entire suspension saga is connected to the Governor’s alleged interest in the Ogun East senatorial ticket in 2027.
“We have no doubt, and let no one be deceived, that this is all connected to the politics of 2027 and especially the APC ticket for the Ogun East Senatorial District,” Daniel stated.
According to him, it has been established that the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Dapo Abiodun was behind the sharing of an unsigned press statement announcing his purported suspension from the party.
Pattern of Victimization
Daniel recounted instances of what he described as deliberate attempts by the governor to undermine his political activities. He recalled that after securing the APC senatorial ticket in 2022, he flagged off his campaign at Ita Oba in Sagamu on October 2 and invited Governor Abiodun as the Special Guest of Honour.
However, the governor neither attended nor sent a representative. Instead, according to Daniel, the governor allegedly instructed party members to stay away from the event, with some public servants who defied the directive subsequently served query letters.
Daniel further alleged that when the Senate was convened for the first time on June 13, 2023, he chartered an aircraft to convey stakeholders from Ogun East Senatorial District to Abuja for the inauguration. The governor, through the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tokunbo Talabi, allegedly called several leaders who were already on the manifest to disembark, including traditional rulers.
Support from Party Stakeholders
The press conference attracted significant support from party loyalists and stakeholders across the nine local government areas of Ogun East. Eleven prominent party figures, including General Olumuyiwa Okunowo (Retired), Comrade Niyi Osoba, Otunba Korede Okusanya, and Princess Ronke Oduneye, signed a joint statement describing the suspension as “false, mischievous, and politically motivated”.
Notable attendees included former Special Duties Commissioner Akogun Kola Onadipe and former Deputy Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Honourable Remmy Hassan.
The party leaders, representing all 103 wards across the district’s nine local government areas, clarified that the purported suspension was reported in Ward 4, not the Senator’s Ward 12.
They also noted that while Daniel won the 2023 senatorial election with 115,147 votes, the highest in Ogun East history, the governor lost in seven of nine local governments in the same district, including his home council of Ikenne.
Commitment to APC
Despite the ongoing controversy, Senator Daniel reaffirmed his loyalty to the APC, stating that the party belongs to all members and vowing to mobilize his supporters to work for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
The stakeholders accused the governor’s camp of monopolizing the party structure from ward to state level, warning that the APC in Ogun was sliding into disarray. They urged the national leadership to intervene and “rescue the party from internal implosion.”
The development has further intensified the political rivalry between the two leaders from the same senatorial district, raising concerns about the unity of the APC in Ogun State ahead of the next general elections.