A former Special Adviser to the Ogun State Governor, Remmy Hazzan, has accused Governor Dapo Abiodun of plotting to discredit Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel in a bid to reclaim the 2027 senatorial ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun East.
Hazzan, who served as Deputy Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, said the governor’s recent political manoeuvres against Senator Daniel were driven by personal ambition and resentment over the senator’s success in securing the 2023 ticket.
Last week, media reports claimed that Daniel’s suspension over alleged anti-party activities had been upheld by the state APC.
However, Daniel’s loyalists from all nine local government areas of Ogun East dismissed the report at a press conference held on Tuesday at Daniel’s Asoludero Court residence in Sagamu, describing it as a politically motivated move engineered by Abiodun’s camp.
Hazzan said the governor, who has his eyes on the Ogun East seat in 2027, had always opposed Daniel’s candidacy, fearing it would be difficult to unseat him once elected.
“What the governor wants is a placeholder for the Senate that he wants in 2027. He never wanted OGD in 2023 and didn’t pretend about it. At the end of the day, OGD got the ticket, and the governor never hid his contempt for that outcome,”Hazzan said.
He accused Abiodun of using excessive force in his political tactics, saying, “He has been approaching the whole process with what I will call the strategy of killing a mosquito with a sledgehammer. Each step he takes to discredit OGD, he fails. We know he will try more, but he will fail more.”
Hazzan described the governor’s political prowess as “below par,” adding that no valid suspension had taken place.
“As far as we are concerned, no suspension took place. What’s going on is just troubleshooting so that they can hang on to something,” he said.
Also speaking at the briefing, Steve Oliyide, Senator Daniel’s media aide, dismissed the suspension claim as baseless, noting that there had been no official allegation, investigation, or communication from the state party leadership.
Oliyide said: “We are talking about a former governor of the state and a serving senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. How can the spokesperson of the governor, who has a vested interest, speak on behalf of the APC? This shows the announcement cannot be taken seriously.”
He maintained that the entire controversy was tied to the politics of 2027 and the struggle for the APC ticket in Ogun East.
