Although many are yet to fathom the sudden no love lost relationship between the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and a former governor of the state, Gbenga Daniel, his former ally, who currently represents Ogun East Senatorial District at the Senate, those who understands the politics behind the unexpected enmity have already started giving their verdicts.
The reliably gathered from sources within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state that the current animosity is not unconnected with aspirations for the 2027 elections. While Daniel is said to be eyeing a second term as a senator, the governor is also reportedly strategising for the same position. Both of them are from Ogun East Senatorial District.
The rift, which allegedly started prior to the last gubernatorial election, was kept as top secret for months, with both camps pretending that all was well, until last Sunday’s demolition of DATKEM Plaza, Ijebu Ode, by the state government under the excuse that it contravenes the state’s physical planning laws. The plaza was owned by the former governor’s wife, Yeye Olufunke Daniel.
To many, the sudden animosity between the two is still hard to believe, considering the role Daniel played in the emergence of Abiodun as governor in 2019, when the immediate past governor, Ibikunle Amosun, was hell-bent on installing his preferred successor, Adekunle Akinlade, who contested on the platform of the Alliance Peoples Movement (APM), having lost the ticket to Abiodun of APC.
It was alleged that Daniel, who was in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as at that period, mobilised his people to work for Abiodun, based on the agreement that Daniel’s uncompleted multi-million edifice erected opposite the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) but seized by Amosun’s administration for eight years, would be released.
True to the promise, after the election was won and lost, Abiodun fulfilled his side of the bargain by lifting the embargo on the building. This was probably the governor’s first assignment in office and the edifice is today the Conference Hotel, Abeokuta.
Even the governor confirmed the story recently during an inspection of the eight-kilometre Mowe-Ofada Road, in the Obafemi Owode Local Council.
Abiodun said: “Let me take you down memory lane. The purported owner of this property, when I assumed office in 2019, had a property in Abeokuta. It was meant to be a hotel. My predecessor had sealed that property for eight years.
“He had issued a stop order. He was going to demolish that building, but for my intervention. I pleaded with him. That building remained under lock and key until I resumed office. The first day I was sworn in was the very day the owner moved into that property for the first time in eight years. And today, the property is called the Conference Hotel in Abeokuta.”
Many within and outside the state are still wondering what could have happened between the two that warranted the demolition of the Ijebu Ode plaza, registered as far back as 2009.
Since the demolition of the property last Sunday, there has been accusation and counter-accusation between the two camps. The Project Manager and Developer of the project, Olusegun Lawal, said the state government gave them only three days notice before the demolition exercise was carried out.
“There is no single structural defect on the building and all relevant and necessary government approvals were obtained,” Lawal claimed.
But the state government insisted that it was an illegal structure without an approved plan, which contravenes the state’s physical planning laws.
A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olayiwola Abiodun, explained that the structure violated the building codes of the state with numerous defects.
He claimed that several efforts made by the state government to halt further development on site were ignored by the developers.
According to the permanent secretary, what the government did in partially pulling down the defective building was to be proactive, challenging Daniel to produce evidence of government’s approval in his possession.
Amid the claims and counter-claims between the owners and the government, some observers have accused Abiodun of having political vendetta against Daniel. However, the governor has vehemently denied any political motives behind the demolition.
But those accusing the governor of political vendetta believe that Daniel’s alleged interference during the last gubernatorial election contributed to Abiodun’s loss in seven out of nine local councils Ogun East Senatorial District. Nevertheless, Daniel has vehemently denied the allegations and challenged Abiodun’s camp to provide evidence supporting their claims.
While reacting formally to the accusations, Abiodun, denied any act of vindictiveness, saying: “I’m sure that everyone would testify to the fact that since I assumed office in 2019, I have ensured equity, and fairness and upheld the rule of law. I have not in any way attempted to be vindictive or in any form or manner appear like someone who is trying to witch-hunt anyone.
“Having said that, these are some of the insinuations I have read on social media and nothing could be farther from the truth. You all have seen the position of the Ministry of Physical Planning, which is the ministry that is entrusted with ensuring that people adhere to our different building codes. Because if we don’t respect building codes, if we don’t abide by building laws, it means that we are nothing but a chaotic society.
“Only a few weeks ago, the new minister of the FCT said any person who builds in FCT without approval no matter how highly placed they are, be it a minister or anybody, the building will come down. And recall sometime last year, when a building collapsed on Gerard Road in Lagos, a building that belonged to someone that I know personally, I held a press conference and said we would not allow for this to happen in Ogun State. You build without approval, you build beyond your approval, and if you don’t build in line with our regulations, that building will come down.”
Even though the tension generated by the demolition has not abated, The reliably gathered from reliable sources that fresh trouble may be looming between the two political heavyweights.
The sources said there were feelers that the state government had plans to bulldoze a part of the Conference Hotel, over an alleged “illegal extension.”
Though the veracity of this claim could not be verified from government officials, an impeccable source hinted that the government was finalising plans to issue Daniel an ultimatum to remove the contentious extension. The source hinted that should Daniel fail to comply with the ultimatum, the government may be forced to embark on another demolition exercise.
A former governorship aspirant on the platform of the PDP in the 2023 general election, Segun Sowunmi, who reacted to the development, said the governor’s action was unbecoming.
In an open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he alleged that the body language of the President seems to support the actions Abiodun has taken in state.
The letter read in part: “If no one will tell you, I will. Your body language is making us feel very unsafe in Ogun State. What type of gangsterism do we call this? President Bola Tinubu, you are enabling Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State. We keep reporting him, but what we see is that the more we report him, the more you pamper him with access to you. It was funny how he made the trip to India coming on the heels of the allegation of a local government chairman about interference with local government funds.
“Will Ogun now feel safer under President Buhari, a Daura man, and unsafe under a Yoruba man? If no one will tell you, I will. Your body language is making us feel very unsafe in Ogun State.
“Dapo Abiodun got his thugs to attack me in the premises of a court, and then he shamefully removed Wale Adedayo based on a serious allegation of diversion of local government funds. Now a sitting senator has to deal with this?”
But a chieftain of the APC in the state, who prefers anonymity, defended the governor, saying there is no one above the laws of the state, irrespective of position or status.
“Daniel deserves what is happening to him. As a governor, he was ruthless and did all kinds of things. This is like a payback time; he deserves whatever Abiodun does,” he said.
However, a political analyst in the state, John Okubo, warned that the way and manner the animosity between both leaders was going, if not controlled, is not only capable of disrupting good governance in the state, but may also debar the state from enjoying certain benefits from the Federal Government.
