In a brazen display of political selfishness that has left the people of Ogun East reeling in betrayal, Governor Dapo Abiodun stands accused of single-handedly sabotaging the creation of Ijebu-Remo State; a move that could have transformed the region into a booming economic powerhouse.
While the House of Representatives made history by passing landmark constitutional alterations; including the historic separation of Federal and State Police, sweeping electoral reforms, devolution of powers, fiscal restructuring, and enhanced human rights protections, one critical aspiration was deliberately buried: the birth of a new state from the historic Ijebu Province.
And according to multiple sources close to the process, the villain of this story is none other than Governor Dapo Abiodun.
Senate triumph sabotaged in the House
In the Senate, former Governor and current Senator Gbenga Daniel (OGD) fought valiantly.
He reportedly secured a staggering 75 signatures from distinguished senators, pushing the Ijebu-Remo State Creation Bill with determination and strategic brilliance.
The dream was alive. The people were hopeful.
Then came the House of Representatives; where Ogun East members, allegedly dancing to Governor Abiodun’s tune, allegedly shot the bill down in cold blood.
Honourable members from the zone, desperate for second-term tickets and fearing the wrath of the governor, reportedly refused to rally support.
They couldn’t muster even a single meaningful signature from colleagues across the chamber.
While the late Hon. Adewunmi Oriyomi Onanuga (Ijaiya) showed rare courage and attempted to fight for her people, others; notably Hon. Joseph Folorunsho Adegbesan and allies, allegedly abandoned the Ijebu and Remo masses, following the script handed down from Abeokuta.
They vacillated. They hesitated. They killed the momentum.
All because Governor Dapo Abiodun, a Remo man himself, was not in support.
The governor’s sinister silence and selfish agenda
For months, stakeholders begged Governor Abiodun to publicly back the creation of Ijebu-Remo State. His response? Deafening silence; the kind of calculated indifference that speaks volumes.
Why would a sitting governor work against a project that promises massive infrastructure development, industrial explosion, job creation, and a new socio-economic order for Ogun East? Simple: 2027 politics.
Abiodun’s eyes are fixed on consolidating power and controlling the APC structure.
A new Ijebu-Remo State would dilute his influence, create new power centers, and potentially boost rivals like Senator Gbenga Daniel.
So he allegedly instructed his boys in the House to frustrate the bill; sacrificing the future of an entire region on the altar of personal ambition and re-election insurance.
This is not leadership. This is political assassination of a people’s dream.
What Ijebu-Remo could have been
Proponents paint a glowing picture: a thriving economic hub driven by construction, commerce, and industrialization.
Freed from the current lopsided structure, the new state would attract targeted federal investments, build world-class infrastructure, and finally give the old Ijebu Province its rightful place in Nigeria’s federation.
Instead, thanks to Governor Abiodun’s alleged interference, that future has been postponed; perhaps indefinitely.
While other zones inch closer to new states in the South-South and South-East as part of the constitutional review, Ogun East’s legitimate aspiration lies in ruins, allegedly because one man placed politics above the collective good.
The last flicker of hope now rests solely with Senator Gbenga Daniel in the Senate.
But even Daniel cannot perform miracles if the House remains compromised and the governor continues playing god with the destiny of his people.
Ogun East deserves better.
The hardworking people of Ijebu and Remo; long marginalized within the current arrangement, deserve a governor who fights for them, not one who allegedly pulls the strings to strangle their aspirations.
Governor Abiodun has been weighed in the balance of this historic constitutional moment… and many say he has been found severely wanting.
The question now echoing across Ogun East is painful but necessary: How many more dreams must be sacrificed at the altar of one man’s political survival?
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.
