2027: Insiders Reveal Where Chieftains Who Helped Daniel Secure Historic Senatorial Win In 2023 Stand

As political permutations intensify ahead of the 2027 general election, insiders say three powerful party chieftains who played decisive roles in Senator Gbenga Daniel’s record-breaking victory in 2023 have remained firmly in his camp, despite the growing struggle with Governor Dapo Abiodun over the Ogun East senatorial ticket of the All Progressives Congress.

The chieftains — Otunba Fatai Sowemimo, John Obafemi and General Muyiwa Okunowo (rtd) — were at the heart of Daniel’s return to frontline politics in 2023, when he secured what remains the most emphatic senatorial victory ever recorded in the district.

Daniel polled 115,147 votes, defeating his closest challenger, who managed 58,708 votes, and sweeping all nine local government areas of Ogun East: Ijebu North, Odogbolu, Remo North, Sagamu, Ijebu North-East, Ijebu Ode, Ijebu East, Ikenne and Ogun Waterside.

The victory has neither been overturned nor challenged at any court or tribunal, further cementing Daniel’s standing within the district and the ruling party.

During the celebrations marking his inauguration, the former governor publicly acknowledged Sowemimo, Obafemi and Okunowo as the “three musketeers” who served as the arrowheads of the historic campaign.

Political sources say the trio went “the whole hog” with Daniel — from helping him clinch the party ticket in the face of internal resistance to driving the grassroots mobilisation that produced the landslide outcome.

Insiders insist that loyalty has not wavered.

“They remain hard-core, top-level loyalists of Senator Daniel. They have never left his side,” a source familiar with the camp said, adding that the trio is already active as the 2027 contest draws closer.

Their continued alignment with Daniel is seen as a significant morale boost as the contest over Ogun East sharpens. Governor Abiodun, who completes his second term in 2027, is widely believed to be positioning for the senatorial seat, a move Daniel — himself a former two-term governor — is determined to resist as he seeks a second term in the Senate.

Sowemimo, a former member of the Ogun State House of Assembly, ex-commissioner for sports and immediate past chairman of the Ogun State Water Corporation, is regarded as a seasoned grassroots organiser with deep political networks.

Obafemi, deputy director of the Gateway Movement, Daniel’s support group, is a former lawmaker and two-term chairman of Remo North Local Government, with enduring influence across Remo axis politics.

Completing the trio, Okunowo, a retired general, is known for his extensive contacts, humanitarian outreach and cultural advocacy within Yorubaland.

All three were active members of the Tinubu-Shettima grassroots campaign structure during the 2023 elections and are credited with coordinating efforts that translated elite support into votes across the district.

“They really put their backs into the campaign, deployed their extensive contacts and influences, and were everywhere,” an insider said.

As the battle for Ogun East heads towards what party watchers describe as a wire-to-wire finish, the unflinching support of the men Daniel once called his “three musketeers” is shaping up as a critical factor in the unfolding 2027 equation.