Gbenga Daniel Boosts Sarafa Isola’s Guber Ambition

Gbenga Daniel, the Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, has boosted the gubernatorial ambition of Sarafa Isola.

Isola, from Ogun Central, is touted as one of the possible successors to Governor Dapo Abiodun.

Talks about his ambition were recently and quietly reawakened by supporters across social media platforms after it fizzled out due to claims that his chief backers – Daniel and former Senator Ibikunle Amosun – were looking toward other options with firmer footing in grassroots politics.

Daniel and Amosun, both former governors, control two of the four major political structures in Ogun State.

They are reportedly collaborating to determine who becomes the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the next governor of Ogun State.

Senator Daniel’s recent back-to-back public appearances with Isola have sparked claims of renewed confidence in the former Minister of Mines and Steel. Isola, who is also a former commissioner in Ogun State as well as a former Nigerian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, arrived at the opening of the National Sports Festival hosted by Ogun State alongside Senator Daniel.

The duo stayed together throughout the event held on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at the M.K.O Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta.

On Saturday, June 7, 2025, they jointly attended the 80th birthday ceremony of Princess Ojaronke Ogunremi at the Waterfront, Lekki Admiralty Lagos Event Place.

These public outings, featured across Daniel’s social media pages, have sparked fresh speculation that Isola might be back as the preferred candidate of the former governors—giving a boost to his gubernatorial ambition.

Isola is mainly up against leading gubernatorial aspirant and Senator from Ogun West, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, in the race to determine Abiodun’s successor.

Senator Adeola, famously known as Yayi, recently laid claim to maternal roots in Ogun Central to further solidify his political reach. He controls one of the four major political structures in the state.

Governor Abiodun, from Ogun East, is set to leave office in 2027 after completing two four-year terms that began in 2019. There are talks that he is looking beyond both Isola and Adeola in choosing his preferred successor.

While Daniel, Amosun, and Adeola are chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Ladi Adebutu—who holds the last of the four main political structures in Ogun State—is the leader of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Adebutu intends to contest the next governorship election in the state.