Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and Senator Gbenga Daniel, both from Ogun East Senatorial District, are locked in an open battle over who goes to the Senate in 2027.
For two men who once stood shoulder to shoulder against a common enemy — former Governor Ibikunle Amosun — the depth of their current animosity is striking.
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Their alliance was hardly built on affection. Daniel backed Abiodun’s 2019 governorship bid, lending him grassroots muscle and political legitimacy in a race the governor nearly lost. Abiodun, for his part, claims he later used his position to ease Daniel’s return to the APC and clear the path for him to win the Ogun East Senate seat in 2023, getting rivals Segun Adesegun and Senator Mustapha to stand down.
But power, once secured, has a short memory. Daniel’s supporters say the senator received nothing in return — no commissioners, no meaningful appointments for his loyalists, no political influence commensurate with the weight he had contributed. The grievance festered quietly until it could no longer be contained.
The Ijebu-Ode Flashpoint
On April 20, APC leaders from Ogun East gathered at Adeola Odutola Hall in Ijebu-Ode to endorse Abiodun as the party’s consensus senatorial candidate for 2027. Daniel was blocked from entering the venue. The order, reportedly given by the Chairman of Odogbolu Local Government acting on instructions from above, was blunt: the sitting senator could not come in with a busload of supporters.
Daniel addressed his backers outside, declaring any decisions taken in his absence “null and void.” His camp later described the event as a “kangaroo arrangement” and alleged that police officers were subsequently deployed to surround his Sagamu residence.
Today, I picked up my nomination and expression of interest forms as I seek to return to the Nigerian Senate, continuing my efforts to provide effective and responsive representation for the people of Ogun East Senatorial District under the platform of the All Progressives… pic.twitter.com/PwoEEkTEtU
— Gbenga Daniel (@JustusOGD) April 28, 2026
On Tuesday, April 28, Daniel made his move. He announced on social media that he had purchased the APC nomination and expression of interest forms to seek re-election — a direct and deliberate challenge to the consensus that had just been proclaimed over his head.
The same day, Abiodun responded. At a stakeholders’ meeting, the governor aired grievances he said he had never before voiced publicly. He recalled stepping aside for Daniel after losing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primaries to him over two decades ago and delivering his supporters to him.
“I know what I did for Governor Daniel to become a senator,” Abiodun said. “I know what my intervention was to get them to step down for him to emerge as senator.” He then accused Daniel of repaying those favours by sponsoring media attacks against him. “I leave him to his conscience,” he said.
We attended the Ogun East APC Stakeholders’ Meeting yesterday where leaders of the zone formally adopted me as the All Progressives Congress (@OfficialAPCNg) consensus senatorial candidate for Ogun East. pic.twitter.com/hYTD5zpca6
— Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun, CON (@DapoAbiodunCON) April 29, 2026
The Legal Trap the APC Must Avoid
The rivalry is not merely a bruising internal squabble. It carries a serious legal dimension that could cost the APC the Ogun East Senate seat entirely.
Under Section 87 of the Electoral Act 2026, which President Tinubu signed into law in February this year, a consensus candidate can only emerge validly if the party secures the written consent of all cleared aspirants, each voluntarily withdrawing from the race and endorsing the consensus choice. If even one aspirant refuses to step down, the party must revert to a direct primary.
Daniel has not only refused to consent, he has gone further and purchased his nomination forms, making his opposition a matter of public record. This leaves the APC in a precarious position. If the party presses ahead with a consensus it cannot legally sustain and submits Abiodun’s name to INEC without conducting a proper primary, it risks having its candidate disqualified.
The courts have consistently upheld the sanctity of due process in electoral matters, and non-compliance exposes parties to litigation, candidate disqualification, and reputational damage. The opposition, alert to any procedural misstep, would need only to file the right pre-election suit.
Notably, a direct primary in Ogun East would be a real contest, one in which a senator with nearly three years of constituency work and deep roots in Ijebu, Remo, and Ikenne faces a governor who commands state resources but has not won a senatorial election in the Fourth Republic.
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The APC state leadership, which has been publicly downplaying the rift, will eventually have to choose: manage the law properly or gamble on a process a court could unravel.
Philip Ibitoye is a Special Correspondent with EKO HOT BLOG. Click here to find daily analysis and critical insight on trending issues in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria.
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