OGD Media Office responds to Governor Dapo Abiodun, rejecting claims about Gbenga Daniel’s rise and detailing events from 2003, 2019 and 2023 elections
OGD Media Office Chides Abiodun, Says Daniel’s Victories Were Earned — Not Given
The media office of Senator Gbenga Daniel has issued a detailed response to claims reportedly made by Governor Dapo Abiodun at a private meeting in Iperu, rejecting the governor’s account of key political events spanning over two decades.
In the statement dated April 29, 2026, the OGD Media Office said it had been inundated with requests to react, noting that the governor chose a closed-door setting to make claims he “has, by his own admission, never dared to make publicly.”
“Statements built on fiction are best circulated in rooms where they cannot be immediately interrogated,” the statement said.
The media office addressed two major claims attributed to the governor, including assertions that he supported Daniel’s emergence as Ogun governor in 2003 and later played a role in his election as senator in 2023. It described both claims as misleading and not supported by facts.
On the 2003 governorship primaries, the statement acknowledged that Abiodun contested under the Peoples Democratic Party but said his campaign was among the most aggressive against Daniel at the time. It maintained that Daniel won the primary decisively with about 90 percent of delegate votes and subsequently reached out to co-aspirants in what it described as a “No Victor, No Vanquished” approach.
It added that Abiodun joined the post-primary reconciliation process later than others and recalled that Daniel, as governor, went on to appoint him to lead the Gateway Oil & Gas Committee, which laid the foundation for the state’s oil and gas company.
The statement also referenced the 2015 Ogun East senatorial election, where Abiodun lost to Buruji Kashamu, questioning the strength of the political structure he now claims. It contrasted this with the events of 2019, when Daniel, then a PDP leader, supported Abiodun’s governorship bid despite internal crises within the party.
“OGD not only mobilised his political structure in support of Mr. Abiodun, he also publicly raised his hand in a symbolic show of acceptance,” the statement said.
Turning to the 2023 senatorial election, the media office insisted that Daniel’s victory in Ogun East was earned independently.
“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,” it said.
It added that by the time any alleged intervention took place, the primaries had effectively been concluded.
“There were no frontrunners left to persuade, only a result to accept,” the statement noted.
“A man who arrives after the contest to claim credit is not a kingmaker; he is a latecomer attempting to rewrite history.”
The statement further said Daniel ran an extensive grassroots campaign across all 103 wards and multiple local government areas, while alleging that the governor did not attend any of the campaign events.
It also cited events leading up to the official campaign flag-off in Sagamu, claiming that invitations were extended to government officials but that last-minute directives discouraged attendance.
On the issue of political structure, the media office questioned the governor’s claims and pointed to election outcomes as evidence.
“Senator Daniel’s victory was unprecedented… one of the very few not challenged at the tribunal,” it said.
The statement added that the governor did not secure victories in his own ward and local government during the same election cycle, raising further questions about the effectiveness of his political base.
It also alleged that efforts were made over three years to weaken Daniel within party ranks but said those attempts failed due to his deep-rooted support across Ogun State.
“Senator Daniel’s mandate was earned in the open, before the people, and at the polls,” the statement said.
Responding to claims of negative media coverage, the media office described them as a deflection.
“When governance falters, scrutiny is often recast as persecution,” it said.
The statement ended with a pointed remark directed at the governor.
“If there is anyone who needs to search his conscience, Governor Dapo Abiodun needs only look in the mirror.”
