How APC's exclusion of Ogun from reconciliation list signals dwindling influence of OGD
Fresh and extensive investigations have unearthed the precise political machinations that have left Senator Gbenga Daniel, a former governor of Ogun State and current Senator representing Ogun East, strategically isolated within the power hierarchy of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Findings by this publication reveal that the Senator’s diminishing influence ahead of the 2027 general elections is not merely a local party skirmish but the result of a calculated signal from the Presidency, cementing Governor Dapo Abiodun’s absolute control over the party structure.
Multiple high-level sources within the party’s National Secretariat and the Presidency, speaking on strict conditions of anonymity, confirmed that President Bola Tinubu’s recent directive on party reconciliation was the decisive blow that sealed Daniel’s exclusion.
The turning point came recently when President Tinubu, in his capacity as the APC National Leader, tasked the party’s National Reconciliation Committee with urgently resolving internal crises in 11 specifically named states.
Political watchers and party insiders were quick to note the glaring omission of Ogun State from this critical list.
According to Presidency sources, this was not an administrative oversight but a deliberate political statement. By excluding Ogun, the National Leadership effectively declared that there is no crisis in the state requiring mediation, thereby validating the status quo led by Governor Dapo Abiodun and the current State Working Committee (SWC).
“This was the final nail in the coffin for Senator Daniel’s attempts to stage a comeback through the backdoor,” a senior member of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) confided.
“His camp had been lobbying intensely in Abuja to get Ogun included on that list. Their calculation was that a national reconciliation exercise would force Governor Abiodun to the negotiating table, allowing Daniel and his suspended allies to be reintegrated on equal terms. The President’s decision to leave Ogun off the list shut that door completely. It is an endorsement of Abiodun’s leadership style.”
Beyond the friction with the Governor, our investigation uncovered that Senator Daniel’s continued association with the Gateway Frontier political group has become his greatest liability in Abuja.
The group, largely populated by former stalwarts of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who followed Daniel into the APC, is viewed with deep suspicion by the party’s mainstream.
Senior party officials described the group as a PDP reservoir in APC clothing, operating as a distinct bloc rather than integrating into the party mainstream.
A member of the Ogun State Executive Council, who requested anonymity, stated: “This group has been holding separate meetings, issuing independent endorsements, and functioning effectively as a party-within-a-party."
“The Governor and the state party machinery view the Gateway Frontier as a fifth column. With 2027 approaching, the party cannot afford a divided house. Loyalty is paramount, and you cannot serve two masters. You cannot be in the APC and run a parallel structure that mirrors the opposition.”
The Senator’s predicament is further complicated by his unresolved suspension. Last year, the APC in Ward 4, Sagamu, suspended Daniel for alleged anti-party activities, a move swiftly ratified by the State Working Committee.
Although the APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, publicly criticized the procedure at the time citing a lack of consultation, the national body has notably taken no concrete steps to overturn the suspension or sanction the state chapter.
Insiders now suggest Basiru’s intervention was merely procedural and lacked the political weight of the Presidency. “Basiru’s intervention was more about constitutional propriety than political support for Daniel,” a source in the Vice President’s office explained. “Behind the scenes, there was no appetite in Abuja to reinstate someone seen as fostering a parallel system. The silence from the top was consent.”
Compounding the former governor's isolation is a recent directive from the APC national leadership regarding the ongoing e-registration exercise.
Reports indicate that Senator Daniel has been directed to work under the leadership of Governor Abiodun to mobilize members for the exercise.
A political analyst close to the Government House in Abeokuta described this development as deeply symbolic.
“It formally places Daniel in a subordinate, implementer role to the Governor, contradicting any perception of him as a co-leader or an elder statesman with independent authority,” the analyst noted. “It is a public reaffirmation of the chain of command. Furthermore, it ties his legitimacy within the party to his cooperation with an exercise meant to solidify the existing membership register, a register controlled by the state apparatus he is at odds with.”
The implications for the next election cycle are stark. With the reconciliation window closed and his suspension technically festering, Daniel’s ability to influence candidate selections, or even secure his own re-election ticket, is now severely compromised.
“Senator Daniel is now effectively a figurehead in Ogun APC,” a former commissioner in the state concluded. “He has the title of a Senator, but the real political machinery, the patronage, and the path to 2027 are firmly in the hands of Governor Abiodun and his allies. The President’s list made that official.”
As of press time, Senator Daniel’s camp has offered no official response to these developments, but the silence from the party's national headquarters suggests that the power map in Ogun State has been redrawn, leaving the former governor on the periphery.