Politics
Talks Trend Whether Abiodun Will Be First Ogun Gov To Install Preferred Successor
none have managed to do it.
The talks are unceasing.
Will Governor Dapo Abiodun be the first Governor of Ogun State to install his successor?
The talks are trending amid the continuous aligning and re-aligning of political interests ahead of the next gubernatorial election.
Here is the background to the raging discussions centered on whether he would succeed in an area where his predecessors failed to make headway.
No Governor in Ogun State has been able to get his preferred successor.
Created in 1976, with a mix of military administrators and short-lived tenures during truncated democratic periods, Ogun Governors began having the freedom to determine their successors with the start of ‘modern democracy’ in 1999 – but none have managed to do it.
The formidable Olusegun Osoba – with a vice grip on government and arresting reach all over town – was unable to install his preferred successor, as Gbenga Daniel, a candidate from the opposition party, succeeded him in 2003.
Despite his larger-than-life performance during his two terms (eight years), Daniel also failed to install his man as his successor, with Ibikunle Amosun – a chieftain of a rival political party – taking over in 2011.
Amosun, acknowledged as the Governor with near-total, if not absolute, control of Ogun politics for eight years, was also unable to install his preferred successor. He failed in his all-out attempt to stop Dapo Abiodun.
Abiodun was sworn in as Governor in 2019.
Abiodun will complete his second term – eight years of governance – in 2027.
Now, the talks have started on whether he will succeed in installing his desired successor, where all other former Governors with a stronger hold on power and politics did not.
