In a desperate bid to defend Governor Dapo Abiodun’s frantic push for a no-contest consensus ticket in Ogun East, the Ogun State Government has resorted to rewriting history.
In a statement issued by the Governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Hon. Kayode Akinmade, the administration accused Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel (OGD) of being a product of consensus arrangement in 2023, only to now reject the same process he allegedly benefited from.
This claim is not just ironic. It is demonstrably false.
The 2023 APC Ogun East Senatorial primary was never a peaceful, no-contest consensus where aspirants graciously stepped aside.
It was a full-blown open primary election conducted with delegates voting at Itoro Hall in Ijebu-Ode, where multiple aspirants actively participated, cast votes, and even scored some delegates.
OGD did not emerge through backroom imposition. He earned a landslide victory in a democratic contest.
Also read: Of Political Judases and Hidden Hands: Exposing Kayode Akinmade’s Ghost War on Gbenga Daniel
Here are the official results of that so-called 2023 consensus arrangement held on 28 May 2022:
APC Ogun East Senatorial Primary Results, Itoro Hall
Ijebu Ode LG: OGD 53, Lekan 2
Remo North LG: OGD 50, Lekan 0
Ijebu East LG: OGD 45, Lekan 1
Waterside LG: OGD 49, Lekan 0
Ikenne LG: OGD 50, Lekan 0
Ijebu North LG: OGD 43, Lekan 6, Segun Adesegun 6
Odogbolu LG: OGD 55, Lekan 20
Sagamu LG: OGD 69, Lekan 0
Ijebu North East LG: OGD 36, Seyi Oduntan 11, Lekan 0
Grand Totals
OGD: 450
Lekan (LM): 29
Seyi Oduntan: 11
Segun Adesegun: 6
Total votes cast: 496
Total delegates: 515
These figures tell the unvarnished truth. This was no consensus.
Other aspirants including Lekan, Seyi Oduntan, and Segun Adesegun were physically present and seated in the hall. They did not step down.
Votes were cast, counted, and collated in the open. OGD won fairly and overwhelmingly because the delegates chose him, not because Governor Abiodun prevailed on them to step aside for party unity, as the government now falsely claims.
The government narrative collapses under the weight of these numbers.
Yet Akinmade’s statement doubles down, insisting Abiodun ensured a peaceful consensus and that Daniel is now fighting the same arrangement and party structure that produced him.
This is classic gaslighting, an attempt to rewrite 2023 events to justify Dapo Abiodun’s current desperation to avoid a primary in 2027.
The hypocrisy is even starker when viewed against the governor’s broader strategy.
What is happening in Ogun East is not an isolated case. Similar aggressive manoeuvres to force consensus candidates are reportedly underway in Ogun Central and Ogun West.
This high-handed attitude, treating primaries as optional inconveniences, risks triggering widespread rancour, defections, and outright implosion within the APC.
If the party fails to call Governor Abiodun to order, disgruntled aspirants, sidelined leaders, and alienated grassroots members across all three senatorial districts will not sit idle.
Many could defect, sabotage the ticket, or simply stay away on election day. A party that cannot conduct fair internal democracy will find it impossible to win the trust of the electorate in the 2027 general election.
Meanwhile, while Governor Abiodun was being paraded for dubious endorsements by individuals critics describe as having questionable integrity, Senator Daniel was holding his BATOGD rally, demanding accountability for eight years of stewardship and insisting he remains in the race.
His message was unambiguous: Dapo Abiodun is not a consensus candidate because I am still in this race, and many other qualified aspirants are too.
The APC in Ogun State must confront this reality. Consensus only works when it is genuine and unanimous. It cannot be manufactured through intimidation, state-funded endorsements, or historical falsehoods
. In 2023, OGD did not benefit from a rigged consensus. He won a primary. Today, he is simply demanding the same democratic standard for everyone, including the sitting governor.
Governor Dapo Abiodun’s fear of a free and fair primary speaks volumes.
If he truly commands the support he claims, why the frantic rush to bypass the people’s will?
APC leaders at all levels must intervene before this undemocratic playbook turns a position of strength into self-inflicted defeat.
The party’s fortune in 2027 depends on it. The results from Itoro Hall in 2023 are there for all to see. They cannot be erased by press statements or convenient amnesia.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
