Says Ogun run by 3-man tiny cabal to frustrate, give demolition notices to government’s critics
Former Governor and the current Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, on Sunday took a swipe at Governor Dapo Abiodun over his suspension from the All Progressives Congress (APC) due to alleged anti-party activities in the state.
Daniel was suspended alongside one Hon. Kunle Folarin by the leadership of the party over alleged anti-party activities, with the party calling on the duo to appear before its disciplinary committee before the suspension could be lifted.
However, the APC’s National Working Committee (NWC), in a letter dated November 17, 2025, through its Secretary, Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Bashiru, and addressed to the party’s State Chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi, said that Daniel remains a bona fide member of the party.
But Daniel, speaking at the Midterm Community Assessment and Review Tour of BATOGD at Ijebu-North council on Sunday, said that his suspension over anti-party activities during or after elections was due to the governor’s inability to ‘tolerate inclusive governance’ in the state, declaring that he was ready to face the panel investigation committee.
He expressed regret that the state was being run by a 3-man closed government, where anyone who offers constructive counsel and his cohorts were victimised, persecuted and made to face threats of sack and demolition notices on properties, describing it as a cabal government treating the state’s commonwealth as personal property.
Daniel, who lauded President Bola Tinubu for his timely intervention in resolving the party crisis in the state, said that the president’s interference had doused tension that might have escalated beyond repair, insisting that he and his movement remain loyal to Tinubu’s second-term bid in office for the 2027 elections.
He wondered why a stop-work order was placed on Itanrin General Hospital Road for the people of Ijebu-North by the government under the suspicion that the contractors handling the road projects were his own, insisting that the road was part of the Renewed Hope Agenda Project of the president for the people of Ijebu North, expressing fears that if by December 2025 the stop-work order was not revoked, the state would forfeit such huge people-oriented projects.
The senator, therefore, called on traditional rulers and leaders in the state to prevail on the governor to allow work to resume on the road, saying that it would be a ‘height of political pettiness’ if the people of Ijebu-North forfeited the road from the federal government because of the personnel grievances between him and the governor, stressing that he would not be distracted by Abiodun’s political witch-hunts.
He said, “Let me begin by expressing my profound gratitude to the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party, and to our National Leader, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for their timely and principled intervention in the affairs of the Ogun State chapter of our party. Their action has doused tension and restored a measure of sanity, reminding us that the APC is a party of due process and internal democracy. We look forward to fully stating our case before any investigation panel, confident in the knowledge that truth and justice will prevail.”
“You are all aware of the recent political theatrics, the so-called ‘suspension’ orchestrated by just two or three aides of the Governor. Let me be clear: there were no anti-party activities from me or any member of the BATOGD Movement, before, during, or after any election. Our record is clean, our loyalty to the party and the President is unwavering. The problem is not about party discipline; it is about one man’s inability to tolerate inclusive governance.”
“The problem the Governor has is his fundamental aversion to running a government of the people, by the people. What we have in Ogun State is a ‘3-man closed government,’ a system where no one outside a tiny cabal can offer counsel without being ostracised, victimised, and marked for persecution. It is the norm worldwide that after elections, governance is administered for all – for those who voted for you and those who did not. But since 2019 in Ogun State, the opposite is the case. Governance is administered strictly for a selected few, while those perceived to be against the government are treated as outcasts. Threat of sack, demolition notices – these are weapons deployed against traditional rulers, community leaders, and even teachers, simply for interacting with those who have dared to offer constructive criticism. This is not governance; it is a cult, run with dictatorial instincts, treating our commonwealth as a personal estate.”
“As a former Governor of this state for eight years, and as your Senator, I have a duty to speak truth to power. I have tried, on several occasions, to counsel this Governor privately on these very issues. The reward for my private counsel was public ostracisation and removal from party and government activities. I have, therefore, held my peace, choosing to focus on my work in Abuja for the benefit of our people. But when that very work is now being sabotaged, silence is no longer an option.”
“This brings me to the specific issue for the people of Ijebu North. You are aware that we facilitated the rehabilitation of the Itanrin and General Hospital Roads through federal agencies. This is part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which we are duty-bound to bring home to our people. The role of a National Assembly member is facilitation. We facilitate, and the federal agencies execute.”
“While this should have been commended, the State Government has erected needless impediments. They erroneously believe the federal contractors are ‘OGD’s contractors,’ and in line with their agenda of removing anything associated with me, the project must be frustrated. A ‘stop-work order’ has been issued by the Local Government Chairman, who we understand is under immense pressure. The question this government is not asking itself is: why choose to fight the people? Why create an anti-people narrative? There is a calibrated annoyance growing internally against this administration, and it is entirely of its own making.”
“Let me be blunt: if by December 2025, this stop-work order is not revoked, the federal funding for these roads will be lost. It will be returned to the treasury. The question then is: how can we, in good conscience, continue to earmark projects for Ijebu North if this is the treatment that awaits them? This is not just our fear; it is now the common gist in Abuja amongst federal contractors: ‘If it’s Ogun State, and you don’t know the Governor, you are playing with a stop-work order.’”
“I therefore make a passionate appeal to our Kabiyesis and all well-meaning leaders here present. Please, talk to the Governor on behalf of our people. Let him allow the people’s road to be rehabilitated. There are hundreds of roads requiring state and local government attention. To single out and sabotage these two federal interventions because of personal grievances is the height of political pettiness. It must stop, for the sake and larger interest of the people of Ijebu North.”
“This is not how we built Ogun State. During our tenure, we established the Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic in Ijebu-Igbo. We completed the multi-campus system of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, creating the College of Engineering in Ibogun, the College of Agriculture in Aiyetoro, and the College of Medicine in Sagamu. We moved OOU to its permanent site in Ago-Iwoye. Development was for all.”
“Even now, as your Senator, we have not relented. We have facilitated solar street lights in Ago-Iwoye and Ijebu-Igbo. We have sunk motorised boreholes in both towns. We have sponsored bills for the establishment of a Federal Medical Centre in Ijebu Ode to make secondary healthcare more accessible. Our commitment is unwavering.”
“My dear people, the BATOGD Movement stands for one thing above all else: the unwavering development of Ogun East and the success of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We will not be distracted by political witch-hunts. We will continue to work for you. We will continue to attract projects. And we trust that with your support, and God on the throne, sanity, progress, and true governance will ultimately prevail,” he added.
