As the countdown to the 2027 general elections begins in earnest, the political landscape in Ogun State’s Ogun East Senatorial District has become a theatre of high-stakes drama.
Governor Dapo Abiodun is reportedly working overtime to emerge as the All Progressives Congress (APC) consensus candidate for the senatorial seat.
Yet the move has left many party faithful scratching their heads: how can a sitting governor be crowned the sole candidate when other credible aspirants, including the incumbent senator from the same party who is seeking re-election, are still firmly in the race?
The question is not whether Governor Abiodun has the right to aspire to the Senate; every qualified APC member does.
The issue is the method; and its dangerous replication across other senatorial districts in the state.
This high-handed, almost illegal attitude of forcing consensus where genuine contestation exists is not limited to Ogun East.
Reports from Ogun Central and Ogun West indicate similar aggressive manoeuvres by the governor and his allies to muscle out other aspirants and impose preferred candidates. What began as an Ogun East problem is fast becoming a statewide affliction.
Why the frantic rush to force a “consensus” arrangement instead of allowing the democratic process of a primary election to decide?
Consensus, when properly negotiated, can be a tool for unity. But when it is pursued with such visible desperation and replicated across districts, it begins to look less like party harmony and more like a calculated power grab designed to evade the will of the people.
Party members across Ogun State are being urged to treat the avalanche of endorsements being orchestrated for the governor with the contempt they deserve.
These so-called endorsements, coming from individuals whose pockets have reportedly been lined with state resources, amount to little more than expensive child’s play. They are not the voice of the grassroots. They are the echo of desperation funded by public resources.
APC loyalists who value internal democracy should see them for what they are: a carefully choreographed attempt to bypass primaries and impose candidates from above.
The irony reached a new peak yesterday.
While Governor Abiodun was allegedly being paraded before a gathering of endorsers described by critics as having questionable integrity, Otunba Gbenga Daniel (OGD) was addressing a thunderous BATOGD rally elsewhere in the district.
In a direct and unsparing address, OGD turned the spotlight on the governor’s eight-year stewardship. He posed pointed questions about infrastructure, accountability, and governance deliverables, essentially telling the outgoing governor: “Account for your time in office before you ask the people to send you to the Senate.”
Most significantly, Otunba Daniel left no one in doubt about the reality on the ground.
“Dapo Abiodun is not a consensus candidate,” he declared, “because I am still in this race, and I believe many other qualified aspirants are also in it.”
The message was clear: no amount of backroom lobbying or hired endorsements can substitute for the verdict of party members at a transparent primary.
The APC in Ogun State must wake up to the grave danger this attitude poses.
If the party fails to call Governor Abiodun to order immediately, the growing rancour and resentment across the three senatorial districts could trigger a full-blown implosion.
Disgruntled aspirants, sidelined leaders, and alienated grassroots members will not simply fold their arms; many may defect, work against the party, or sit on the fence during the general election. A party that cannot manage its internal democracy fairly will struggle to convince voters it deserves another mandate.
The stakes are bigger than one individual’s ambition.
The APC in Ogun State has always prided itself on being a party that listens to its members. Imposing candidates through consensus in the face of active contestation risks alienating the very grassroots that delivered victory in previous elections.
It also sends a dangerous signal that some leaders are above the rules they expect others to obey.
Governor Abiodun must be reminded that leadership is not inherited or imposed; it is earned at the ballot box, even within the party.
If he truly enjoys the support he claims, he should have nothing to fear from free and fair primaries. Anything less only validates the growing suspicion that the rush for consensus is not about unity but about fear of the people’s choice.
APC leaders at the national and state levels must act decisively. The party’s fortune in the 2027 general election hangs in the balance.
Allowing this undemocratic attitude to fester unchecked could turn a position of strength into self-inflicted defeat. The time to call Dapo Abiodun to order is now; before the cracks become irreparable.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
