The loyalists of the former governor of Ogun State and Senator representing Ogun East, Otunba Gbenga Daniel under the aegis of BATOGD Movement have announced the pull out of the supporters of the former governor from the primary for the 2027 All Progressives Congress Ogun East Senate race slated for Monday.
The BATOGD Movement team in a statement on Sunday cited alleged plans by some agents of the state government to unleash violence on the supporters of the former governor, hence their decision not to participate in the primary.
The APC stakeholders said that they have also urged Daniel to stay away from the scheduled Senate primary.
The statement was signed by 35 members including General (Rev’d) Olumuyiwa Okunowo rtd (Ijebu Ode) Akogun Kola Onadipe (Ijebu North East) Otunba Fatai Sowemimo (Remo North) Prince Segun Seriki (Ijebu North)
Hon. John Obafemi (Remo North)
Otunba Tayo Onayemi (Ijebu North East) Dr. Bankole Osisanya (Ijebu East) Alhaja Ronke Carew (Odogbolu) Rt. Hon. Remmy Hassan (Odogbolu) and Hon Oludare Kadiri (Maba) (Ijebu North) among others.
The statement partly reads “Since we joined our great Party, the All Progressive Congress some years ago, we believe we have added value in no unmistakable terms to the party.
“We have followed our principal to all the nooks and crannies of the Ogun East Senatorial District empowering the people and we are glad that the goodwill of His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces has been supportive in no small measure.
“However what we have experienced in recent times is at variance to our understanding of the principles of a democratic system where fair play is the minimum expectations.
“In the last few days we have seen all manners of strange movements and miscreants taken positions and ready to strike down our people. We have heard and seen Agents of the State government threatening fire and brimstone against our supporters, and the elections yesterday is a confirmation of our worst fears.
“We do not believe in good conscience that we should subject our people to unnecessary danger and mayhem.
“On this note, we have advised our Principal, His Exc, The Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel to distance himself from the Senatorial party Primary elections.
“We also hereby advise our supporters to stay away from the venues of the Senatorial party Primary election of Monday 18th May, 2026 for their own safety”.
Reacting to the allegations, the Special Adviser to Gov Dapo Abiodun on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade has however described the BATOGD Movement’s allegations as baseless and frivolous.
Akinmade said that Gov Abiodun since being in office for the past seven years had been known to be a leader who prioritize peace and eschew politics of violence.
He stated that “We just had the primaries for the House of Representatives which was peaceful across the state.
“The former governor is actually running away from his shadow. He asked for direct primary and that is taking place tomorrow. The decision not to participate again is just because he knew that he would flatly lose the election.
“However, there’s nothing like plot to unleash violence against anyone because the security agencies are on ground to provide maximum security to all the party members participating in the primary”.
It will be recalled that the contest for the Ogun East Senate ticket has been central to the feud between Daniel and Gov Abiodun.
Abiodun was on Tuesday picked by the leaders and stakeholders of the APC in Ogun East Senatorial District as the consensus candidate for the 2027 senatorial election.
The endorsement according to a statement was witnessed by top APC chieftains, including the party’s consensus gubernatorial candidate in Ogun State, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, former deputy governors, and other senior stakeholders across Ogun East.
Daniel however rejected this endorsement describing it as a product of desperation being forced down the throats of the party members by the governor insisting that if given a level playing ground he would defeat Abiodun overwhelmingly in a fair primary contest for the senate ticket
However, Steve Oloyide, Communications Consultant to Daniel said the senator won’t boycott the primaries as widely rumoured.
He said, “OGD did not boycott the primaries. But the BATOGD Movement believes it cannot puts its members in harm’s way and allow people to be killed before making noise, following the atmosphere under which the primaries are being conducted.
“The state machinery and thugs have hijacked the process. Under a free contest, he (Daniel) is still ready to contest.”