Despite the odds against him within and outside his All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has continued to forge ahead in fulfillment of his electoral promises and looks good to win the 2023 governorship election. Raheem Akingbolu reports
By the time the story of the third republic would be documented, the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, would occupy a special place as one of the most persecuted politicians of the era. But like every determined leader, with clear-cut intentions and ideas to lift his people, the governor has remained focused and able to dismantle oppositions through subtle political moves devoid of brigandry that is common to politicians in this part of the world. Rather than allowing petty politics to slow him down, Abiodun had quickly settled down for work and focused on managing his success towards sustaining and expanding his support base. The policy paid off as it provided a smooth foundation for his re-election.
The foundation of the challenge faced by the governor while warming up for his second term in office was laid in 2019, when his predecessor in office, Senator Ibikunle Amosun became the leader of the enemies within. In a desperate move to install one of his lackeys, Adekunle Akinlade as governor, the former governor threw caution into the air and fought dirty but Abiodun came out unscathed. From any angle one chooses to look at it, the struggle was not a tea party, in view of intrigues and deceit by several stakeholders, which led to rancor within the rank and file of the ruling party.
For the APC, under which platform Abiodun was elected, the intrigues started with the mode of primary to be adopted in order to choose the party’s flag bearer.
Three options were available for choosing the party’s candidate- the direct primary, indirect primary and the consensus arrangement.
While the faction being led by Amosun, opted for indirect primary, the Dapo Abiodun’s faction, chose the direct mode.
But when it was clear that the two factions could not agree on a particular option, the National Secretariat decided that a direct mode of primary be adopted.
Rather than participating in the direct mode, the Amosun’s faction boycotted the exercise and organised its own Indirect Governorship Primary that produced Akinlade.
After all efforts made by Amosun and his clique failed, the ex-governor had summarily pulled out a few of his supporters out of APC and threw his weight behind an unknown party in the state, the Allied People’s Movement (APM) and adopted Akinlade as its governorship candidate. The fallout from this was that the breakaway faction of the APC that formed APM became the major opposition to Abiodun.
But while the electioneering was on, the chance of Abiodun and APC was boosted, with the open declaration by a faction of the PDP loyal to a former Governor, Gbenga Daniel, that members of his group, should work and support Abiodun The seemingly confusing situation was saved by the pronouncement of the Interim National Secretary of APC Caretaker Committee, John Akpanudoedehe, who said the National Secretariat would only accept results of congresses, conducted by the Congress Committee sent by the Secretariat.
Consequently, the opposition within, was put to rest, by the acceptance of the results and names generated by the Wale Ohu led Congress Committee sent by the National Secretariat.
To further cement the viability of the party in the state, the Appeal Committee on Local Government Congress of the party in Ogun State disclosed that no single petition was received by the committee, on the conduct of the exercise in the state. Another factor that aided Abiodun was what looked like the concensus agreement among the neutrals to support him at the pole. At the end, he won and that ended the story.
Though Abiodun had started warming himself into the heart of the opposition in the state before the 2019 election, the turning point was the defection of former Governor Gbenga Daniel and his eventual declaration for Abiodun. Between 2019 and now, he has not only intensified effort in this direction, he has successfully cowed opposition by winning thousands of members of major parties in the state into the progressive fold. It is on record that the candidate of ADC, Gboyega Isiaka, popularly called GNI with his supporters and those rooting for Akinlade in APM in 2019 later moved to the ruling APC. With this development, the governor has successfully defeated both the enemies within and without.
Directly connected with this is the governor’s inclusive governance style, which has seen him appointing people into offices indiscriminately. This also reflects in the way in his work as he spreads dividends of democracy across the states.
Considering this policy of Inclusiveness and accommodation, the state and the people are the ultimate beneficiaries as the governor has been able to concentrate on the business of governance to the admiration of the good people of Ogun State. As of today, there is enough evidence of finished and commissioned various infrastructural projects across the three senatorial districts of the state standing as a testimony to Abiodun’s pragmatic style of governance. Apart from playing politics, fulfilling election promises of provision of dividends of democracy for the people, remains very important to Abiodun after his election.
The governor was able to do this by appointing competent people into positions of service, even from other political parties that contested against his own APC in the spirit of running an inclusive administration.
Specifically, Abiodun appointed leaders and members of the PDP, Labour Party (LP), ADC and some members of the APC faction loyal to former Governor Amosun.
While some people from other political parties and from other APC factions other than his, got direct appointment in the administration of Abiodun, some were rewarded during the last local government election, which was a departure to the previous “Winner Takes All” syndrome.
This policy of Inclusiveness, didn’t only encourage the hitherto opposition leaders to move to the ruling APC, Ogun State indigenes rose up in his support when some fifth columnists started campaigns of calumny during the build up to the just concluded primary election.
As part of the ways to whittle down his popularity, some faceless individuals and groups had sponsored a series of rumour, including the most ridiculous one that the hard working governor once served a jail term abroad. As his spin doctors were making moves to rebuff the damaging report, about five governorship aspirants were warming up and campaigning to unseat Abiodun. They all failed because of the governance performance and acceptability.
At the pick of the game, passionate indigenes of the state that could not stand the malicious campaign stood up to defend him. In particular, a socio-political group, ‘Ogun Progressive Agenda’ (OPA), raised an alarm over what it described as “a sinister and grand plot to continue and sustain the campaign of calumny against the governor, by enemies of progress in the state, who are pained by the developmental stride of the governor.
In a statement issued in Abeokuta by the Patron of the group, Alhaji Rasheed Sanusi, said, it has uncovered “a plot by a notable politician, who lost out in the battle to install his stooge, got a bloody nose in the fight for the soul of the party and has refused to come to terms with the present realities.
“Now, the abrasive politician well known for rabble-rousing, has recruited many hirelings and hangers-on who are hiding behind some faceless groups and organisations to concoct and spin lies against the hard-working Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state”.
“In the meantime, our advice to Mr. Governor and leader of our party in the state is that he should not be distracted. He should remain focused on his agenda for the growth and development of our dear state. His landmark and laudable works speak for him in various sectors of our beloved state. And that is why we are resolute in our support for continuity of the good works since the reward for a job well done is more work.”
The group admonished politicians to appreciate the fact that to everything and everyone under the sun, there are times and seasons, and that politicians should not be desperate, but should rather accept that power belongs to God and he gives it to whoever He wants.
With about eight months until the 2023 general election and the fact that Abiodun has become like a new bride in Ogun politics, the future looks bright for him. Incidentally, the PDP, which is the main opposition in the state, appears to also be in disarray at the moment. Whether the PDP is able to put its house in order before the election or not, Abiodun sure has enough political will to reclaim the Gateway state.
