June 10, (THEWILL)- It does appear as if Gbenga Daniel, the Senator representing Ogun East and a former governor of Ogun State, is willing to let bygones be bygones going by his recent utterances as it concerns the incumbent Governor, Dapo Abiodun.
Daniel recently commended Abiodun over recognition of the state’s oil production status which he said fulfils a vision started by his administration when he was governor of the state in 2003 with immense support from former president Olusegun Obasanjo.
Recall that on May 31, the State Government announced that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited was set to commence oil and gas exploration in the state.
While commending Abiodun for seeing the vision through, he also appealed for Abiodun’s support in revitalising Gateway Industrial and Petro-Gas Institute (GIPI) in the state and supporting its revitalisation in order to take advantage of underutilised developments.
He also drew the governor’s attention to the pending construction of the Makun Omi Bridge which was planned by his (Daniel) administration but could not be realised due to the turbulent politics of that time.
Although the governor is yet to respond to Daniel’s gesture of goodwill, this, however, signifies a willingness by Daniel to sheath his warring sword and embrace peace. The former friends became foes and have been at each other’s throats, particularly in the last two years.
But just before the last general election, it got worse. At some point, a former governor of the state, Olusegun Osoba, tried to douse their anger. His intervention worked but only for a while. What was the cause of their anger? Abiodun refused to support Daniel’s senatorial ambition, alleging that Daniel had thrown his weight behind Ladi Adebutu, his opponent in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and as such could not also support Daniel.
However, Daniel claimed that the reason Abiodun was at war with him was because he (Daniel) supported President Bola Tinubu during the APC 2023 presidential primaries against Abiodun’s choice. He pitched his tent with former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Daniel also claimed that Abiodun failed to see that the majority of the indigenes didn’t support his second-term ambition as governor going by his woeful performance in his first term.
Also, sources close to THEWILL had revealed that Abiodun allegedly believes that Wale Adedayo, a former chairman of Ijebu East Local Government Area of the state, who alleged that he (Abiodun) diverted council allocations, was allegedly being used as a tool by Daniel against him.
Matters came to a head when Abiodun woke up one morning and decided to bulldoze a five-storey building belonging to Daniel’s wife and the state’s former first lady, Yeye Olufunke, for absolutely no reason.
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