Leadership (Abuja)
Saidu Usman Sarki
7 September 2008
Since Otunba Gbenga Daniel won election for second term as governor of Ogun State in 2007, there appeared to be no love lost between him and his political godfather, former president Olusegun Obasanjo, who hails from the same state. Cracks began to show in their relationship immediately after Obasanjo's exit from the Aso Rock and his relocation to Otta farm.
The genesis of their problem could be traced to Obasanjo's meddlesomeness in the politicals the state. Since his relocation back home after he had completed his eight-year tenure in 2007, the former president has tried to make himself relevant by influencing all the political decisions taken in the state. These included the choice of people for political appointments and the nominations for elective offices. In most cases, the people selected were those who have shown absolute full loyalty to him and are ready to carry out his bidding at any point in time.
Governor Daniel recently began to resist these moves, thereby causing some frictions between them.
To Daniel, if there is anyone to be known as the number one citizen of the state, it should be he as the governor. But the way Obasanjo dips his hands into virtually everything certainly threatens Daniel's personality as the state chief executive. This was why he rebelled against his orders.
When the matter got to a head, the former president was alleged to have conceived a plan to checkmate the governor, whom he considered to have grown wings. Part of his ill-conceived plans was to use the state house of assembly to initiate an impeachment proceeding against Daniel. This failed because the members of the House were not only loyal to their governor but could not find any wrongdoing upon which to go against him.
It was also rumoured that it was these ill-feelings between Gbenga Deniel and Obasanjo that led to former president's reconciliation with Dimeji Bankole, the Speaker of the House of Representatives whose name was penciled down as a possible successor to Gbenga Daniel should the state assembly in impeach him.
However, all these could not be achieved.
Recently, at a meeting in Ibadan in which Obasanjo was in attendance, Otunba Gbenga Daniel staged a walkout against him during the heat of the discussions. The crux of the matter was the governor's removal of Ogun central senatorial chairman Senator Tunde Osholake, who happens to be a loyalist of Obasanjo. He was subsequently replaced with a former member, House of Representatives, Chief Bode Mustapha. The reason advanced for Osholake's removal was in pursuance of the principles of equity, justice and fairness. The party said the removal of the former speaker, Chief Titi Oseni, from the House of Assembly in the state altered the power equation in the zone, which accordingly gave room for new political permutations.
The party said this was why the position, hitherto occupied by Osholake, who hails from Obafemi Owode local government council, had to be zoned to Odeda local government council. The leadership of the party in the state also decided that the issue of Ogun central senatorial chairmanship be treated with that of the publicity secretary that was vacant, following the appointment of the former occupant of the office, Mr. Dele Ogunbanjo, as the governor's liason officer for Odogbohi local government council.
It was at the instance of this meeting that the leadership of the two constituencies resolved to nominate Chief Bode Mustapha and Mr. Deji Kalejaiye as Ogun central senatorial chairman and the state publicity secretary respectively, as replacements for Senator Tunde Osholake and Mr. Dele Ogunbanjo.
As far as Obasanjo and those in his camp were concerned, since Osholake was not a political appointee, it was wrong for govenor Daniel and his supporters to have treated him as such. They also argued that since Osholake was elected through a congress, he could only be removed via the same process.
Daniel, who maintained his stand on Osholake's removal, reported the matter to the PDP leadership in Abuja. He met with Vincent Ogbulafor, PDP national chairman and other national officers behind closed doors and accused Obasanjo of interfering with the PDP affairs in Ogun.
It was gathered that Ogbulafor told Daniel that the matter would be discussed during the next meeting of the national working Committee of the PDP. It was also gathered that the party would summon the national vice-chairman, PDP South-West, Alhaji Oladapo, to brief the entire house before a decision could be taken on the matter. Ogbulafor was reported to have directed that the status quo ante be maintained until the meeting of the NWC.
A PDP chieftain in the state, on condition of anonymity, said Ogun is not the only state where the former president left office and came to stay in.
"Niger is one of such states which has two former rulers and it has never been heard that they interfere with the governance of the state. So Obasanjo should steer clear of Ogun State politics if he does not want his remaining credibility to be soiled, "he also said.
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