…..You Are Wrong To Question President Tinubu’s Integrity
The primary election for the Ogun East senatorial ticket ahead of the 2027 general election has been conducted and a winner has emerged. This came after the APC in the state took a stand, found the ground, and endorsed Governor Dapo Abiodun as its consensus candidate. That decision has been made and sealed. The truth that nobody wants to say out loud is that Gbenga Daniel saw the writing on the wall—he had no chance. His media campaign collapsed. His propaganda train ran out of fuel. Consequently, on the eve of the primary, he chickened out of the race. And now, instead of accepting the outcome like a man and moving on, Senator Gbenga Daniel is twisting himself into a pretzel, crying foul from the sidelines, and dragging everyone through a melodrama that benefits absolutely nobody, least of all the people of Ogun East.
*Before I go further, let me acknowledge the piece that got me writing. A writer named Alex Olutunbosun, I believe one of Gbenga Daniel’s lackeys, recently published an opinion article titled “Tinubu, Abiodun, and the Cost of Rewarding Rebellion.” In it, he argues that President Tinubu is making a terrible mistake by recognising Governor Abiodun as a leader in the South-West. He says the President is rewarding rebellion while punishing loyalty. He brings up Rauf Aregbesola and Femi Ojudu as examples of people who were supposedly hesitant about Tinubu’s ambition, and he lumps Governor Abiodun in the same category.*
I have read that piece. And I disagree with almost every word of it. Not because I have any personal skin in this game, but because the facts simply do not support what he is saying.
*In fact, if you look at what has actually been happening in Ogun State over the past year, not in 2023, but right now in 2026, the exact opposite is true. The man crying victim is not some loyal soldier being punished for no reason. He is a man being held accountable for his own actions. And there is a world of difference between the two.*
Where the Article Misses the Mark
*Mr. Olutunbosun builds his whole argument on comparing Governor Abiodun to people like Aregbesola and Ojudu. He suggests that Abiodun was part of a group that was lukewarm toward Tinubu’s presidential run, that he was closer to Osinbajo, and that he has never really denied it.*
Setting the records straight against the story of Rewards of Rebellion instead of Loyalty, I wish to state categorically that Otunba Gbenga Daniel had just joined APC when President Tinubu was seeking nomination . He had no member of Exco , not a single delegate.. how and where was he supportive ?
*In his usual political melodrama, he betrayed the party and the President on the selection of Godwill Akpabio as the senate President when he went to collect money from Former Zamfara State Governor, Alh Abdul Azeez Yari to vote for him despite the partys position for Akpabio. It’s undisputedly on record that it took the proactive intervention of Senator Jimoh Ibrahim threat of exposure for him to return the dollars collected back after which Daniel was forced to vote Akpabio…*
*Again the juxtaposition of the conducts of the likes of Femi Ojodu & Co to Governor Dapo Abiodun stand logic in the head because it’s an open secrets how Gov Abiodun made efforts to persuade Osibajo to step down for Asiwaju even at the venue of the convention which the likes of Daniel will not know because he was yet to fully be integrated in the party.*
*It’s therefore incongruous and antithetical for OGD Man Friday to lace such an outlandish allegations on issues he has no knowledge about.*
*Here is what Mr. Olutunbosun conveniently left out of his piece. Daniel was not just “hesitant” or “ambivalent.” He was caught working for the PDP. He was suspended for anti-party activities in August 2025. He refused to show up to his own disciplinary committee. He intimidated party members who were willing to testify against him. And now, in the race for the Ogun East senate ticket in 2027, he is fighting the same consensus arrangement that made him a senator in the first place, simply because it no longer favours him.*
That is betrayal. You cannot put a man who worked for the opposition in the same sentence as someone who just had a different preference during the presidential primaries. That is intellectually dishonest.
Mr. Olutunbosun wants us to believe that President Tinubu is rewarding rebellion by backing Abiodun. But he has not given us one piece of evidence that Abiodun ever worked against the party. No WhatsApp message telling people to vote PDP. No disciplinary summons. No suspension. Nothing.
Because those things do not exist.
*What exists is a governor who has been working. Roads have been built. Healthcare centres have been fixed. Aliko Dangote himself has praised the administration’s business-friendly policies. That is not a rebellion. That is a résumé.*
Let me walk you through what is actually happening right now, because Mr. Olutunbosun’s article sounds like it was written in a vacuum, or maybe an AI generated.
*In April 2026, APC leaders in Ogun East Senatorial District gathered at the Adeola Odutola Hall in Ijebu-Ode. They met openly. They discussed. And they endorsed Governor Dapo Abiodun as their consensus candidate for the senate seat in the 2027 election.*
Senator Daniel, who reportedly could not even get into the venue, rejected the endorsement immediately. His people called it “invalid” and “unacceptable.” They argued that the Electoral Act only recognises consensus if it is backed by a written agreement or direct primaries.
Sounds principled, right? A man standing on proper procedure?
*Except that the same man walked into the Senate through the exact same door. In 2023, the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, had to persuade Senator Lekan Mustapha to step down for Daniel. Mustapha listened. He stepped aside. Daniel got the ticket through consensus. Nobody heard him complain then. Nobody heard him scream “invalid” or “unacceptable.”*
So what changed? Simple. The same rule that lifted him is now standing in his way. And instead of accepting that the party’s choice has shifted, he wants to burn the whole thing down.
Kayode Akinmade, Governor Abiodun’s spokesman, put it perfectly. He said Daniel is “fighting the same consensus arrangement and party structure that produced him as senator in 2023.” He said he is shocked that someone who “benefited immensely from the collective decision of the party is now demonising the same process simply because it no longer aligns with his personal ambition.”
*That is not a complex argument. That is common sense. And Mr. Olutunbosun’s article does not address it. I suspect because it cannot.*
Besides, Gbenga Daniel, in line with the Electoral Act had the chance to contest but dropped out of the race just few hours to the election. He was not compelled to do so, he voluntarily did.
Let me take you back to August 2025, because this fight did not start in April 2026. It has been cooking for a while.
*The Ogun State APC suspended Senator Daniel indefinitely for anti-party activities. The party set up a disciplinary committee. They invited Daniel. He did not show up. They invited him again. He ignored them. Meanwhile, his loyalists were busy harassing party members and warning them not to cooperate.*
What was the anti-party activity? Kayode Akinmade revealed it. Daniel refused to support Governor Abiodun’s re-election bid in the 2023 governorship election. Instead, he worked for the PDP candidate, Ladi Adebutu.
*Read that again. A sitting APC senator worked for the PDP during 2023 governorship election and during the off 2025 off cycle House of Representatives elections for Remo Federal Constituency bye Election And now he wants to be treated like a loyal soldier.*
Mr. Olutunbosun mentions Ibikunle Amosun standing down for Tinubu. That is a fair point. Amosun showed sacrifice. But where was Daniel’s sacrifice?
So when Mr. Olutunbosun warns about the cost of rewarding rebellion, I agree with him. But he has aimed his gun at the wrong person. The rebellion that should not be rewarded is Daniel’s rebellion—working for PDP, boycotting disciplinary committees, intimidating party members, and rejecting consensus only when it does not favour him.
That is the behaviour that destroys parties. And if the APC does not take a firm stand against it, then Mr. Olutunbosun’s warning will come true, just not for the reasons he thinks.
What This Is Really About
*Here is the truth. Daniel is not fighting for democracy. He is not fighting for the people of Ogun East. He is fighting for himself. And look, there is nothing wrong with ambition. Every politician has it. But ambition without discipline is just chaos.*
The APC has a constitution. The Electoral Act has provisions for consensus and primaries. The party in Ogun State has made its decision on the Ogun East senatorial ticket for 2027. Daniel benefited from consensus when it favoured him in 2023. Now that it does not favour him, he wants to tear the whole house down. That is not leadership.
Governor Abiodun is not perfect. No governor is. But the man is working and can be trusted. Daniel, on the other hand, has given the party every reason to sideline him. He worked for the PDP. He boycotted his own disciplinary hearing. He intimidated witnesses. And now he wants to play the martyr.
It does not work that way.
*A Direct Message to Gbenga Daniel and His Men*
So let me say this plainly. Back down. It is over.
You had your chance to defend yourself before the disciplinary committee. You chose not to appear. You had your chance to accept the consensus arrangement that brought you to the Senate in 2023. You chose to reject it when it no longer served you. You had your chance challenge the decision in the primary but you threw in towel.
*Every door that closed was closed by your own hand. Every line you crossed was crossed by your own feet. The nightmare you are trapped in is not the work of Governor Abiodun or President Tinubu. It is the work of Gbenga Daniel.*
So wake up. The alarm has been ringing since August 2025. The party has moved on. The President has bigger things to worry about. The governor is governing. And the people of Ogun East deserve better than a man who claims loyalty with his lips while practising betrayal with his actions.
*Address your followers, Senator. Tell them the truth. Tell them to join hands and work for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Dapo Abiodun. Tell them that the battle for the Ogun East senatorial ticket is over and the party has made its choice.*
If you cannot do that, then step aside quietly. Let those who believe in the party work. The rest of this tenure is for governance, not for settling scores.
A Quick Word to Mr. Olutunbosun
And to you, Mr. Olutunbosun, I say this with respect. Your article raises important questions about loyalty and consistency. Those are conversations worth having. But you aimed your argument at the wrong man.
*Governor Abiodun is not the rebel here. He is the one who stayed, who governed, who delivered, and who now has the endorsement of his party’s stakeholders for the 2027 senate ticket. Daniel is the one who worked for the PDP, boycotted his own disciplinary hearing, and now cries victimhood because the party he betrayed no longer trusts him.*
If you want to write about the cost of rewarding rebellion, write about that. Because that is the rebellion that actually happened. That is the rebellion that has been documented. That is the rebellion that the APC in Ogun State is rightly punishing.
*Final Word*
*Senator Daniel, you were governor. You are a senator. That is no small thing. But history does not give you a free pass to act above the party. The same party that lifted you in 2023 can also set you aside for 2027. And it has.*
*The nightmare ends when you decide to open your eyes. So open them. Come out. Join hands. Work for the President and the governor. Prepare for the next election if you must, but do it through the right channels—following the constitution, respecting the party, and accepting that you are not the only player on the field.*
*The party is bigger than one man. The President’s vision is larger than any senatorial ambition. And Ogun State has suffered enough from leaders who confuse their personal wars with the public good.*
*Wake up, Senator. The nightmare is over.*
Dr Arabambi Abayomi (FBAU)
Convener
Sustainability Of Ogun State & Dapo Abiodun Legacy Beyond 2027
