…Accuses Abiodun of alleged abuse of power over police barricade of Daniel’s residence

The Bola Armed Tinubu- Otunba Gbenga Daniel (BATOGD), Movement in Ogun East Senatorial District, yesterday, faulted the endorsement of Governor Dapo Abiodun as consensus candidate for All Progressive Congress(APC) in the district come 2027 elections.

Recalled that some leaders of the ruling party at a forum endorsed Abiodun as the party’s candidate to contest the senatorial seat and shut out the Senator representing the district, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, from entering the venue, a situation that has triggered tension within the former and latter’s supporters.

The development further heightens as the Nigerian Police Force Stormed and laid siege at the home of the senator in GRA, Ijebu-Ode, disrupting BATOGD’s meeting schedule to hold at Daniel’s residence and scaring away members of the movement with heavy Armoured Personnel Carriers.

However, speaking at a Press conference, the Director General of the movement, General Olumuyiwa Okunowo (rtd) described the endorsement of Abiodun as unacceptable, coordinated under a misrepresented stakeholders’ caucus meeting of the APC in Ogun East.

Okunowo decried the governor’s endorsement as foul play, especially when Daniel was not permitted to enter the venue of the Ogun East Senatorial District Stakeholders Forum meeting held in Ijebu-Ode, insisting that as the serving senator, the former governor should be among the attendees.

He expressed dissatisfaction at the development, stressing that some leaders from the APC caucus of the governor within the zone had already made their plot to pick Abiodun as the consensus candidate before the arrival of the senator in order to edge him out from the 2027 senatorial race under the platform of the party.

“Most of the leaders… were baited into attending the event under the guise of a caucus meeting. It was only upon arrival that many discovered that more than half of the people in the hall were not even qualified to attend,”

“We do not deny them their democratic right to hold their own show, but using the name of our great party to drag leaders into ratifying a premeditated event is what gives us concern,” he added.

The Movement’s DG also expressed the group’s solidarity and support for President Bola Tinubu’s second term bid and the Senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola’s emergence as the consensus governorship candidate of the party in the state come 2027 general elections.

“President Tinubu, in the last few years, has demonstrated unprecedented capacity to tackle all our country’s challenges headlong, and the results have clearly shown that our country is on the path to total recovery. We are hopeful that what appears to be a jinx in the last few decades is finally being broken,” he said.

Okunowo, however, slammed the presence of armed police men at Daniel’s residence, wondering what could have warranted such deployment of the security forces in a democratic era, as he applauded the Acting Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, for intervening and restoring peace in the area.

He alleged that the incident occurred due to false narratives presented to the police that the movement was planning to hold a meeting at the senator’s residence, describing the development as an alleged abuse of power by Abiodun’s administration.

“Our preliminary investigations revealed that false narratives were presented to the police, leading to the cordoning off of the entire street.”

“This reminds us of the unfortunate days of the military junta… We do not think this can happen in Ogun State,” the DG said.