A former governor of Ogun State and Senator representing Ogun East, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, on Wednesday countered Governor Dapo Abiodun’s claims that he handed over his political structure to the senator to enhance his 2003 governorship victory.

Abiodun had alleged that he gave Daniel his structure when the latter contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Daniel has equally faulted the governor’s claim that if not for his support and intervention, it would have been impossible for the him to secure the ruling All Progressives Congress party’s Ogun East senatorial ticket and subsequent election into the national assembly in 2023.

Abiodun had reportedly made this claim at the APC stakeholders meeting held on Tuesday night at his Iperu Remo private residence according to a trending video.

He explained that having lost the governorship ticket to Daniel on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party in 2003, he practically handed over his structure to the former governor to boost his victory at the poll.

The governor added that but for his intervention and pleading that the former deputy governor in the state, Prince Segun Adesegun and the then incumbent senator, Lekan Mustapha to step down their Senate ambition, it might have been difficult for Daniel to have been a member of the national assembly

Daniel, however in a statement made available to journalists on Wednesday by his media team described Abiodun’s narrative as a failed attempt to rewrite history and outright falsehood

The senator insisted that he won all his elections both as a senator and governor by dint of hardwork, massive political campaigns and mobilisation coupled with favourable disposition to empowering the people.

In a statement on Wednesday, Daniel’s media office explained that after defeating Abiodun during the 2003 PDP governorship primaries with a margin of 127 votes to 12, Daniel reached out to other governorship aspirants such as retired Col Emmanuel Shoda, Late Yemi Adefulu, Late Dr Doyin Okupe as well as the incumbent governor among others with a “No Victor, No Vanquished” mindset

Following his victory at the poll in 2003, Daniel was also reported to have ran an inclusive government and appointed Abiodun as the pioneer Chairman of the newly formed Gateway Oil & Gas Committee, which midwifed the establishment of the state’s oil and gas limited liability company which had Prince Wemmy Osude as the Managing Director.

The media team disclosed that it should however not be forgotten that Abiodun’s return to the politics of the state in 2015 with an attempts to represent Ogun East at the Senate was lost woefully to late Sen Buruji Kashamu of the PDP wondering why the so much structure the governor boasted of has failed to live up to the expectation.

The media team stated that against the governor’s boast, the reverse is the case and that if Daniel had not mustered his political support and rallied his allies to support the election of Gov Abiodun in 2019, with the intimidation and stiff opposition by his predecessor, Sen Ibikunle Amosun, it is without any doubt that the governor would have lost the election to Amosun’s backed Adekunle Akinlade of the Allied Peoples Movement

The statement stated that “At that critical moment, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, then a PDP chieftain, was approached to support Mr. Abiodun.

“He heeded the call, placing the future and development of Ogun State above partisan considerations, especially as the PDP itself was entangled in a debilitating legal crisis over its governorship candidacy.

“OGD did not only mobilised his political structure in support of Mr. Abiodun, he also publicly raised his hand in a symbolic show of acceptance before thousands of supporters and members of the media”.

For the 2023 senatorial contest, the media team stated that “It must be clearly stated that Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel won the Ogun East Senatorial election on the strength of his name, his legacy, and the overwhelming support and goodwill of his people. He remains one of the most consequential political figures Ogun State has ever produced.

“The suggestion that his emergence as senator was a product of Governor Abiodun’s backstage choreography is not only false, it is an insult to every voter in Ogun East Senatorial District who participated in that election”.

The statement faulted Abiodun’s claims that he convinced some frontrunners to step down saying that the record tells a different story and that by the time any of such “intervention” allegedly occurred, the primaries were already nearing conclusion.

The media team stated that there were therefore “no frontrunners left to persuade, only a result to accept. A man who arrives after the contest to claim credit for its outcome is not a kingmaker; he is a latecomer attempting to rewrite history”.

The statement added that”It is instructive to note that after emerging as the APC candidate, Otunba Daniel toured all 103 wards of Ogun East Senatorial District and held 13 local government rallies across the nine LGAs.

“Governor Dapo Abiodun, despite his claims of support, did not attend any of these campaign programmes. We stand to be corrected with verifiable proof to the contrary.

“More telling is what transpired ahead of the official flag-off of the OGD senatorial campaign and empowerment programme held at Ita Oba Akarigbo, Sagamu, on October 2, 2022. Governor Abiodun, his commissioners, and members of his administration were duly invited.

“Yet, late instructions were reportedly issued on October 1 directing government officials and APC members to stay away. Some civil servants who attended were subsequently issued queries for participating in what was clearly a political event held on a Sunday. What manner of support could this have been from a governor elected on the same party platform?

“We now ask the Governor directly: which structure did he hand over to Senator Daniel? The same structure that failed to deliver even in his own ward and polling unit barely two weeks after the presidential election, despite the full weight of state machinery?

“Senator Daniel’s victory in the 2023 general election was unprecedented in Ogun State’s senatorial history. The margin was historic, the mandate unambiguous.

“According to INEC records, it remains one of the very few senatorial outcomes in the state that was not contested at the election tribunal. Not a single petition. No dispute. The people spoke with unmistakable clarity.

“Senator Daniel’s mandate was earned in the open, before the people, and at the polls. Why, then, is Governor Abiodun seemingly uncomfortable with open contest, despite having the advantage of incumbency and access to state resources?

“So far, the Governor has relied on backroom arrangements, forced consensus, and closed-door manoeuvring to advance his political ambitions. A man truly confident in his structure does not need such tactics.

“Senator Daniel, having served two full terms as governor, built institutions, infrastructure, and a political legacy that stands independent of patronage. His Senate mandate requires no retroactive endorsement.

Governor Abiodun’s reference to “negative media attacks” is a familiar deflection. When governance falters, scrutiny is often recast as persecution.

“The Governor would do better to address the substance of public concerns rather than attributing every critical report to political opponents. If there is anyone who needs to search his conscience, Governor Dapo Abiodun need only look in the mirror.”