Details:  Insiders Tell Why Abiodun Can Not Win Fight Against Daniel

The fight between Senator-Elect, Gbenga Daniel and Re-Elected Governor Dapo Abiodun is intense.

A window into how deep seethed it is, is provided by the people leading the charge in open space- and the kind of lurid details being thrown up.

Among others, Emmanuel Ojo Adediran (SF Ojo), the leader of Abiodun’s social media troop is at the forefront of the charge against Daniel while Steve Oliyide an avowed aid of the former governor is at the frontline against the incumbent governor.

Those who should know insist that away from the substance of whatever allegations and accusations being thrown up, this is one fight Abiodun can’t win.

“Because the factors at stake are not strongly in his favor” SocietyNow.Ng gathered.

Abiodun won re-election by a disputed slim margin. He got 13, 915 votes more than Ladi Adebutu, the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) backed by at the last minute by Daniel. Adebutu who alleged that he was leading by 33,000 votes in areas he is popular before orchestrated violence forced cancellation is challenging Abiodun’s victory.

Abiodun got 276, 298 votes while Adebutu secured 262,383 votes in the March 18, 2023, gubernatorial election.

“Daniel did not actively campaign for Adebutu, yet gave Abiodun this much trouble. That is very telling about the former governor’s political influence” SocietyNow.Ng gathered.

“It validates assertions that Daniel owns a fiercely loyal and very statewide formidable political structure” according to those in the know.

Insiders disclosed that this is especially telling in the scheme of things to come because Abiodun’s victory is meant to provide the ground for the ambition of Senator Solomon Adeola (Yayi) as the next governor of Ogun state.

Adeola Yayi (the Senator-Elect in Ogun West) is credited with providing the votes that helped to seal Abiodun’s second-term victory.

“Abiodun rose to power as a candidate of the Yayi political structure backed by other political interests (including Daneil’s) in 2019 and has been operating on that structure since then, Yayi’s gubernatorial ambition in Ogun state predates that of Abiodun. The only difference is that Yayi is from a minority area. One of those Yayi has been courting in the bid to become Governor is Daniel. And he is not throwing away years of investment to get Daniel’s backing to side with Abiodun in this fight, especially when he is this close” SocietyNow.Ng gathered.

Senator Yayi needs strong collaboration across the state to become the first person in his region to become the Governor of Ogun state since it was created in 1976. And Daniel is one of the most influential politicians in and out of his party.

Daniel, a former two-term governor of Ogun state, became the Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun East against the wishes of Abiodun and got the backing of the governor to win the election when the latter found it inevitable.

SocietyNow.Ng gathered that it is also in Daniel’s favor that he is one of the earliest backers of the ambition of President-Elect, Bola Tinubu. And also has shared interests with Tinubu well before he switched from PDP to APC.

Abiodun is still trying to mend fences with the about-to-be-sworn-in-president after pitching his tent with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in a manner that threatened Tinubu’s presidential ambition and forced the famous “Eleyi” and “Emi Lokan” outbursts from the latter.

Senator Yayi is one of Tinubu’s “golden sons” while Daniel is a friend and associate of the President-Elect.

The added information available to SocietyNow.Ng revealed that also stacked against the Governor is the leeway the fight has provided for Amosun and Daniel to openly work together.

Amosun’s main preoccupation is to “put Abiodun” in his place since 2019.

The immediate past Governor lost control of the APC to Abiodun ahead of the 2023 election. And all his loyalists lost tickets to elective positions in a winner-takes-all by Abiodun.

“Amosun is a still member of the APC, Daniel is a member of the APC and both now have Abiodun as a common enemy. Abiodun is unwittingly pushing two stronger politicians to join forces against him in this fight with Daniel. Amosun is always willing to negotiate as long as the objective is to take control from Abiodun” SocietyNow.Ng gathered.

SocietyNow.Ng gathered that though Abiodun has former Governor Olusegun Osoba in his corner, it may not make much difference in what is to come.

“Osoba is semi-retired. He has become a mediator and advisor. Amosun and Daniel are very active and have fiercely loyal support bases and virile political structures to their names. Stronger structures than Abiodun, if Yayi takes away the political structure giving him cover. ” SocietyNow.Ng gathered.

Insiders further disclosed that what Abiodun’s supporters are not seeing – or refusing to see – is that Daniel has gone to ambush them in the future.

“By backing Adebutu against Abiodun, Daniel has taken giant steps to ensure a second term as Ogun East Senator, all things being equal, and become the more dominant political power in Abiodun’s turf” SocietyNow.Ng learned.

Abiodun and Daniel are from the same Senatorial district.

“So rather than engage in messy and open fight with Daniel what the Abiodun camp should have done is to stoop to conquer” SocietyNow.Ng learned.