Ogun East Traditional Rulers Distance Themselves From Gbenga Daniel

By Bisi Adedamola

Members of the Ogun East Council of Traditional Rulers are said to be carefully weighing their relationship with the ex-governor and Ogun East senator-elect, Chief Gbenga Daniel, following the developments in the state since the March 18 governorship election where Daniel worked for the PDP candidate, Hon Oladipupo Adebutu. 

According to sources, the traditional rulers are privy to how the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba (Dr) Sikiru Adetona, had called the current senator representing Ogun East in the National Assembly, Lekan Mustapha, and started pleading with him to concede the ticket to Daniel, and how the senator in deference to the crown had agreed to do so. They remembered how Daniel was rolling on the floor, promising that if given the ticket he would never disappoint the district; that he would be a loyal and dedicated party member, and that the Awujale should prevail on Governor Abiodun to accept him as the Ogun East APC candidate.

“The Council members know how much Daniel had collected from the Governor before and after his election, only for him to make a 360-degree turn and work for the opposition during the March 18 polls in the state,” said a source.

The Council members are particularly said to be worried because what Daniel did to Prince Dapo Abiodun/APC is antithetical to the cherished Ijebu and Remo values of loyalty and credibility, and that they may carry a moral burden if seen to be hobnobbing with Daniel in the face of his betrayal of his party and Governor Abiodun’s trust. They have thus started distancing themselves from the senator-elect in order not to be seen as endorsing what he did.

One of the traditional rulers was said to have remarked: “We are not known for flip-flopping, inconsistency and perfidy. If we are with you, we are with you and if we are not, you won’t need anyone to tell you. We are not ready to shelve our time-honoured values of trustworthiness and fidelity because of anyone and under any guise. Our values are time-tested and inviolate.”

As it is, Daniel, who was recently shunned by the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, in France when he tried to have a one-on-one discussion with him (Tinubu) following his perfidious activities, may be going into the Senate as a politician without home support and goodwill.