The Pathfinder
Thursday August 14, 2025
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That there is a face-off between the Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, and a former governor of the state and now senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Otunba Gbenga Daniel is no longer news, as the battle did not just start with the recent brickbats over the planned demolition of properties belonging to Daniel by the state government.
Since the former governor became a senator in 2023, there has been no love lost between the two politicians. It, however, first blew into the open on Sunday, September 9, 2023, when residents of Ijebu-Ode woke up to find some parts of the five-story building, DATKEM Plaza, owned by Olufunke Daniel, the wife of Gbenga Daniel, being demolished by the agents of the state.
This action by the state government against the camp of Otunba Daniel was done to spite the former governor and to show him that there is a governor in Ogun State. Indeed, the interpretation of the demolition in the camp is that the administration of Abiodun believed that the former governor has been carrying on as if he does not know that there is a governor in the state.
The face-off between the duo took a dangerous dimension last weekend with claims and counterclaims on alleged plans to demolish the properties of the former governor.
Senator Daniel, through his Media Office in a press statement titled “Political Persecution as Governor Abiodun Issues Quit, Demolition Notices on Daniel’s Properties in Ogun State,” raised an alarm alleging intent to illegally demolish his properties by the state government.
Specifically, the statement by Steve Oliyide alleged that the administration of Governor Abiodun posted Notices of Contravention, Quit, and threats of demolition on the Sagamu private residence of the former governor, Asoludero Court; his Conference Hotels Limited, Sagamu; and the hotel Annex with the intent to illegally demolish them.
However, the governor, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Kayode Akinmade, while not denying placing notice on the properties, said there was an ongoing holistic approach to development efforts across the length and breadth of the state as Gov. Abiodun embarked not only on building new communities as exemplified by the affordable housing estates and the yellow roof revolution, but also on the redevelopment of Ogun State’s towns and cities through urban renewal.
The statement said the initiative involved the auditing of existing developments within Ibara GRA in Abeokuta, the state capital, and Sagamu and Ijebu-Ode GRA in order to determine the permit status of all types of developments, including houses, schools, hospitals, and other commercial buildings.
“This is a statutory and due process requirement that will provide information for any government intervention. And this informed the development audit exercise currently being carried out simultaneously in both Ijebu-Ode and Sagamu GRAs,” the statement said.
The statement also confirmed that ex-Gov. Daniel’s building happens to be within the Sagamu GRA and among those that were served notices as required under the Town Planning Law and Regulation of Ogun State.
For political watchers in the Gateway State, the growing feud between the two politicians, which started with the demolition of DATKEM Plaza in 2023 and the present planned demolition of the properties of the former governor, is nothing but political, as it is rooted in the 2027 political ambitions of the duo.
While Daniel is ready to seek re-election to represent the people of Ogun East in the National Assembly, it is an open secret that Governor Abiodun, who lost the seat to the late Buruji Kashamu in 2015, is interested in the seat after the expiration of his second term in 2027.
One thing is clear: it would be an uphill task for Governor Abiodun to justify what his administration is doing to a former governor of the state, knowing fully well that he will also become a former one someday. As a former governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel (OGD), a name people of Ogun State fondly turned into Ogidi Omo, a child with substance, deserves respect, more so because he left an indelible mark on the state’s progress and development.
Come to think of it, if within a space of two years, the administration of Governor Abiodun is twice marking for demolition properties linked to Otunba Daniel, such could not be regarded as ordinary when the government can approach the court if indeed the former governor breaches the law.
Meanwhile, both Otunba Daniel and Governor Abiodun are members of the same party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and should this feud not be nip in the bud it may sound the death knell of the ruling party in the Gateway State.
What is not in doubt is that the former governor is not a pushover in the state and will be a formidable foe for Governor Abiodun who is banking on the power of incumbency to get the Ogun East Senatorial District ticket of the APC from the former governor.
Should Governor Abiodun because of his unbridled ambition secure the ticket, will OGD leave the party and if it is the other way, will Abiodun leave the party and is it possible for the two of them to support the gubernatorial candidate and other candidates of the APC come 2027 election?
Whichever way the pendulum swings as the country moves towards 2027, many members of the APC in the state are apprehensive that the party stands to lose if the two political gladiators refuse to sheathe their swords.
More importantly, it behoves on Governor Abiodun not to leave the party that made him governor in disarray when leaving office. While it is his right to have ambition, such should not be at the detriment of the party and the power of incumbency as a governor should not be avenue to lord an unbridled ambition.
E-Signed
Dr. (Comrade) Niyi-Osoba,
APC CHIEFTAIN,
Ogun State.
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