The gubernatorial election which was conducted in Ogun state on Saturday 9th March 2019 has separated boys from men in the political calculations and permutations which hitherto successfully return an underdog as the winner.
The contest remains the most keenly contested one in the history of gubernatorial elections in the state.
At exactly 12:25 am on Monday, 11th March 2019 the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Prince Dapo Abiodun was declared the winner of the poll and returned elected by the Returning officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ogun State.
Ever since he has been declared as the governor-elect, Prince Dapo Abiodun has continued to show gratitude to Almighty God, the teeming voters, party leaders and well-meaning personalities who stood by him in the cause of the electioneering period.
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You will recall that the oil magnate was the last person to show interest in the governorship election. He came into the race early August in 2018 when a myriad of other candidates had been in it for over two years. His entrants into the race about two months to the APC governorship primary election distorted the plans of the incumbent governor who had perfected plans to make sure his anointed candidate emerge. At that period, Prince Dapo Abiodun was assumed to be a paperweight politician and was not taken seriously by the ’emperor’ and many of his footsoldiers who were too confident of having his way in the APC primaries. It began to dawn on the ’emperor’ that the APC governorship ticket was slipping away from him when the electoral panel led by the retired commissioner of police, Mr Muhammed Indabawa who was sent from the National Secretariat of APC to conduct the governorship primary refused to be induced with incentives provided by the powers-that-be.
When Gov. Amosun realized that he could not compromise the electoral panel, he resulted to self-help and conducted a governorship primary of his own version which is not only unconstitutional but also lacks every moral right. Having learnt of his acts of unconstitutionality, the electoral panel sent by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC led by Indabawa conducted the primary election, Prince Dapo Abiodun emerged the winner having polled the highest numbers of votes while Jimi Lawal was second and Amosun’s anointed candidate, Hon. Akinlade came a distant third. Prince Dapo Abiodun was able to win the primary within the short period of entering the race, he was able to tour all the 20 local governments to intimate party members at the grassroots of his ambition and the benefits of his aspiration to the masses.
The declaration of the governor-elect as the APC governorship candidate was like a mirage to Governor Amosun and he was hell-bent on ensuring that the name of Dapo Abiodun was never submitted to INEC. This made the governor travel to the Presidential Villa in Abuja 28times within 5weeks to lobby the Presidency to favour his stooge as the party flagbearer but it was all futile efforts as the national leadership of the party refused to be compromised, cowed or forced to his demands.
After Abiodun’s name was eventually submitted to INEC as the APC governorship candidate in Ogun state, he showed immense gratitude to the Almighty God and the people who stood by him. He never displayed any form of arrogance or intoxicated by the humbling of his bosom friend who was power drunk. He swung into actions together with the leadership of the party in the state by setting up a campaign council headed by a former deputy governor in the state, Prince Segun Adesegun who is a close ally of the former governor and APC leader in the State, Chief Olusegun Osoba. The council considering the inadequacy of time stepped up their game and drew their agenda for the campaign tour.
The governor-elect banking on a formidable structure he was able to assemble, toured all the nooks and crannies of the state to sell his vision which is to give Ogun State focused and qualitative governance and to create an enabling environment for a public-private sector partnership, which is fundamental to the creation of an enduring economic development and individual prosperity of the people of Ogun State.
In the cause of his campaign, Prince Dapo Abiodun remains the most vilified and oppressed governorship candidate in the history of Ogun state elections because he was traumatized physically, emotionally, and spiritually by his major opposition led by Gov. Amosun and his political allies using all the state apparatus to do the hatchet job. These scenarios played out when the campaign trail of the APC governorship candidate, Prince Dapo Abiodun was attacked at Ado Odo, Odogbolu, Imeko Afon, Owode Egba, Ibafo and above all, Abeokuta during his tours. The most glaring of these attacks were the ones encountered by the governor-elect himself and his supporters in Abeokuta during his visit to Abeokuta North Local Government and that of the presidential campaign visit at the MKO stadium, Abeokuta. The bitter experience will linger in the minds of many for a long time. Despite the attacks and oppression, he was never deterred rather, kept moving on with his people-oriented campaign and consulting widely within the stakeholders of the state.
The result of the Presidential and National Assembly election exposed the wide acceptability of the APC with the party clinching 6 Reps seats out of the 9 seats and the 3 senatorial seats in the state. This put governor Amosun under severe pressure because his taunted 95% APC members who he directed to decamp to APM could only manage to win single House of Reps seat. Hence, Amosun used the two weeks window before the governorship election to compromise many stakeholders in the election and secure some alliances with other political parties and their candidates even when resources that meant for the populace were been negotiated for.
Despite all the tantrums and political trauma which Abiodun faced during the electioneering period, he never reneged on his kindheartedness, humility and show of gratitude. He found everyone as important to his success story and he embraces all while rejoicing with him.
He welcomed most of those whom they contested together with a cheerful heart. From Buruji Kashamu of the PDP to Gboyega Nasir Isiaka of the ADC, Rotimi Paseda of the SDP, Tope Tokoya of accord and Dimeji Bankole of the ADP. They were all his opponents during the poll but he never received them as one after his victory.
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He reiterates on many occasions that the victory is not for himself but for the good people of Ogun state who fought for liberation and later have it at the poll.
He showed gratitude to God by organising and attending about four different Thanksgiving services after the poll where he glorified the Almighty for the success, he also hosts party members across the state to a party in his country home in Iperu Remo, Ogun state.
As if that is not enough, after collecting his certificate of return from INEC, he went ahead to visit the president of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari who is also a leader of the APC, he went ahead to pay a visit to the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and also to Chief Olusegun Osoba, Chief Bisi Akande, the APC National chairman, Comr. Adams Oshiomole.
In his show of gratitude, he never left religion leaders ranging from Dr Daniel Olukoya of Mountain of fire, Pastor Enoch Adeboye of RCCG, and also the Muslim leaders.
He has taken the right steps in the right direction and he’s poised to show more gratitude with developmental projects to the good people of Ogun state.
With this exemplary attitude of gratification displayed by the newly elected governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, the citizens of the State should rest assured of responsive and responsible leadership when he gets sworn in by May 29th this year.
and then