Otunba Gbenga Daniel, the Director General of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation, and a former Governor of Ogun State, has not endorsed the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate in the state, Dapo Abiodun.
A source on Daniel’s media team said on Tuesday morning that the former governor has simply been hosting all the governorship candidates and has not announced his endorsement of any of them.
“OGD has only been playing host to all governorship candidates across party lines, he has not given any directive of support for any particular candidate. He is an elder statesman and if such announcement is to be made, there are appropriate medium such will go out through,” the source said.
In response to the rumours that Daniel is backing a candidate other than Kashamu of the PDP, the source claims Daniel never made a statement that indicated such.
“That’s just a rumour, he has never made such statement anywhere.”
With the simmering feud in Ogun state politics, it all seems to have become more complicated with Daniel’s reported endorsement of Abiodun.
Daniel is a former Ogun State governor that wields substantial influence in the politics of the state.
His purported endorsement could be a potential swing in the election for the APC candidate that lacks the backing of the incumbent Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
Amosun, an APC Senator-elect, has publicly thrown his weight behind the gubernatorial candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), Adekunle Akinlade.
The People’s Democratic Party gubernatorial candidacy is also embroiled in controversy with both Senator Buruji Kashamu and Ladi Adebutu laying claim to the post.
Kashamu was listed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC as the Ogun PDP governorship candidate. However, Adebutu has refused to back down on the claim he is the PDP candidate in Ogun State
News of the purported endorsement was shared by Babafemi Oretuyi, a member of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s media team.
“Former Ogun State Governor, Otunba @JustusOGD has thrown his weight behind the Gubernatorial Candidate of
@OfficialAPCNg in Saturday’s Governorship Election directing his supporters across the state to vote massively for Prince @dabiodunMFR,” Oretuyi tweeted Tuesday morning.
The tweet was posted along with an old picture of the PDP’s chieftain and Abiodun.
Oretuyi, when contacted, said he sourced the purported endorsement news from a news blog.
The Guardian
