Politics
OGUN ELECTION; This is no coincidence
OGUN ELECTION; This is no coincidence
By Tunde Salako
Is this sheer coincidence? In 2019, Gbenga Daniel was the South-West coordinator of the PDP presidential campaign and was always with the then presidential flagbearer of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
They moved around the country together in private jets. Many times, he talked to the media about the chances of Atiku in the presidential election. But when Atiku lost to President Muhammadu Buhari, Daniel made a 360-degree turn and started negotiating with APC.
He was negotiating with APC because he knew that he could not meet with Ibikunle Amosun who had just floated another party, the APM after his (Amosun’s) crony lost out woefully at the APC gubernatorial primary in Ogun State, coupled with the fact that the then governor had declared him persona non grata for eight years.
He also suspected that the PDP would not be able to perform well at the gubernatorial election just ahead. Ladi Adebutu, who was defeated by Governor Dapo Abiodun in the March 18 election, was also the PDP gubernatorial candidate then.
As a political Maradona, he was able to read the script very well and of course Abiodun won the election, and Daniel got all the benefits attached to joining the winning side. For one thing, the embargo that Amosun had placed on his businesses were removed. Besides, Daniel was even to interface with APC chieftains to the level that he also aspired to become a senator.
Lekan Mustapha, the outgoing senator, is a two-term senator who ordinarily would have become a high ranking senator had he won a third term ticket. But he was prevailed upon with the intervention of some other aspirants and Daniel won the Ogun East senatorial primary.
But having won the primary, Daniel started another scheme. He began thinking of how to outsmart the man that gave him the platform to contest and bounce back into political reckoning. He started badmouthing the Governor all around. During the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections that APC won by a landslide in Ogun State, the Governor and the APC leadership had supported Daniel with a lot of logistics. That was only natural.
However, shortly after he won the election, the 2019 Judas spirit in him struck and took control of his faculties. Daniel started hobnobbing with the same PDP he had rejected and betrayed then, with Ladi Adebutu and his father now becoming his closet political pals. His project was now to run the sitting Governor down and out of town. And he did his best to undermine the Governor, with his attack dogs in full battle mode. He ensured that during the gubernatorial poll, the Governor lost out in his areas of influence.
It has become quite apparent now that Daniel is a serial betrayer and cannot be trusted. What is important to him is his bread basket and nothing else. There is nobody he cannot betray. If he can betray PDP in 2019 and APC in 2023, what type of character is he portraying in the public space? When you look at the way he was so close to Atiku, it would have been hard to suspect then that he would dump him (Atiku) so spectacularly. But he did.
Then when you look at the way he was also close to Dapo Abiodun and President-elect Bola Tinubu, taking centre stage as the latter came to campaign in Ogun State during the APC presidential primaries and during the presidential campaigns proper, it would also have been difficult to suspect that he would play the Judas card so soon. But that was what he did. He, Abiodun and Tinubu rode in the same bus on the campaigns, yet the bile inside him was huge.
For Daniel, what is permanent is his interest, pure and simple. So, this is not a matter of coincidence; it’s a matter of character. No wonder the Yoruba say that character is a smoke; it can’t be hidden. Governor Abiodun must take comfort in the words of our elders: Whoever is betrayed by friends should take it in his stride. After all, blood relations also betray.
Salako, a social commentator, wrote from Imeko, Ogun State.
Breaking: Speaker Obasa Debunks Allegation Of Spending N17b On Assembly Gate
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, on Thursday described the allegation that the House spent N17 billion on the fixing of a gate as spurious and funny.
A self-proclaimed group, Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition, had accused the Assembly of spending the amount to construct a gate. The group also sought investigation of the claim.
Speaking at plenary, Dr. Obasa said the allegation stemmed from the fear of some people over 2027 which is still more than two years away.
Obasa further debunked the claim that the House spent N200 million on its recently organised 22nd thanksgiving service for staff.
“It is so funny. How much is the allocation of the Assembly in the whole year that we will decide to spend N17 billion on a gate? They even claimed that we expended 200 million on thanksgiving that did not hold.
“We are aware that at a period like this when we are approaching elections in 2027, we should expect such things. I think some people are scared and I don’t know why.
“This House did not and has not embarked on any such project. We are not that reckless. We had our thanksgiving last Friday and dignitaries from various parts of the State attended it,” the Speaker said.
Addressing further claims by the group about the alleged relationship between him and the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, the Speaker denied attending the latter’s screening and confirmation by the National Assembly.
“They said that I was at the National Assembly when they were confirming the EFCC chairman. I want to believe that there are CCTV cameras at the National Assembly to identify those who attended the event. The press must have written about it too. So the group should do more to confirm if I was there.
“This is just to deny the allegations in the interest of the public and not the writers because the writers are not those we should be joining words with,” the Speaker said.
Earlier, the House, through its spokesperson, Hon. Stephen Ogundipe, had addressed the allegations noting that the Assembly bases its activities on integrity, transparency and accountability.
“It is ludicrous the claim about constituency intervention funds and constituency project funds and their handling by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and Clerk of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko as claimed by the group.
“One would have expected a self-acclaimed anti-corruption crusading group to do its groundwork before jumping across the fence with conviction that it hit a jackpot to malign an institution of repute in the name of politics.
“Simply put, the Lagos State House of Assembly does not have any such funds. The Assembly does not embark on constituency projects. Instead, once every year, the House holds stakeholders’ meetings simultaneously across the state where constituents have the opportunity to tell the lawmakers their expectations and make requests for the betterment of the state.
“These requests and expectations are compiled and sent to the executive arm of government for consideration as inputs in subsequent budgets. If this is what the group takes as constituency intervention or project funds, we are sure this explanation has given the required education, moreover, it is common knowledge that it is the responsibility of the Executive arm to execute such projects,” the earlier statement by Ogundipe read.
Eromosele Ebhomele
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
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