The Convener of Ogun West Initiative, Bolaji Adeniji, has denied any rift between Governor Dapo Abiodun and the senator representing Ogun West senatorial district at the National Assembly, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, over the latter’s governorship aspiration in 2027.
Adeniji said that rather than political rivalry as being insinuated, the governor and the senator have continued to collaborate on how to facilitate good governance and delivery of dividends of democracy to the people of Ogun.
The Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stated this while addressing journalists in a chat with newsmen in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
He declared that the cooperation, forbearance and mutual understanding between the duo have resulted in massive infrastructural development, social growth, and economic empowerment of the citizenry, not only in Ogun West but across the state.
According to him, “the sweet orchestra from the governor and the senator has continued to be a solution for the peace in the party today and even for the foreseeable future”.
He commended Governor Abiodun for ensuring an “atmosphere of serenity in the state and particularly within the All Progressive Congress (APC) family where he has provided leadership and worked harmoniously with important partners for the progress of the party and development of the state”.
Adeniji, however, flayed some politicians, particularly within the APC, who have embarked on spreading a purported rift between the Governor Abiodun and Senator Adeola, noting that “the camaraderie and effusive banter displayed by both men at Akesan Day penultimate week, should bring the detractors to the stark reality that the duo are irrevocably united and on a common cause”.
He cautioned party members especially the supporters of a member of the House of Representatives, fanning the ember of discord in the Ogun APC ostensibly for the politics of 2027 ambition.
“We find it disheartening that while the likes of Governor Abiodun, Senator Adeola and others at that level in the progressive fold, continue to work in harmony and daily harping on peace, supporters of a House of Representatives member, have embraced the path of dishonour by peddling crisis and disunity.
“For several weeks on rebound, these people daily pass offensive innuendoes and unprintable insults on the person of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola; for no justifiable cause and without any provocation. Most worrisome is the fact that the attacks on the senator has gone unabated and without any reprimand from their leader to halt that disruptive path.
“Let it be stated unequivocally that all ambitions are legitimate and guaranteed under the constitution of our country as being of inalienable right; and no ambition is superior to the other. There is no permanency of candidacy; for life is in phases, men are in sizes and times are in seasons. Though, the people of Ogun State are already building a consensus on Adeola as their next leader, but that should not be the headache of a tiny group within the party”. Adeniji stated.
He stressed that the gubernatorial ticket of Ogun APC will not be won by subterfuge and campaign of calumny, urging the federal lawmaker to rein in his supporters from heating up the polity.
While affirming that Ogun West’s push for governorship is no longer a sectional demand, but now a pan-Ogun state conversation hinged on emancipation and restitution, the APC chieftain said that the successful endorsement of Senator Adeola by his maternal lineage of Kemta Odutolu in Abeokuta few days ago, has clearly indicated the readiness of Ogun Central to support the governorship aspiration of the senator come 2027.
“Adeola is of Yewa and Egba; and in him, there is already a confluence of choice for 2027. Therefore, any talk by an individual that he must bow to vested interests to have his path smoothened in Egbaland, is mere braggadocio that is not anchored on relevant facts and realities on ground. Today, the senator has built bridges, structures, necessary handshakes across the zones, and meticulously putting in place the needed electoral infrastructure towards a successful campaign,”, Adeniji said.
He reiterated his call for peace and the embrace of good democratic ethos by all and sundry, submitting that “every player must play by the rules and be guided by the law and common sense”.
Daily Trust
