Gbenga Daniel Must Lead Us To APC -Waliu Taiwo

 

A former commissioner under a former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel aka OGD and former Director General of the Ladi Adebutu Governorship Campaign Organization under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Hon. Waliu Taiwo has declared that OGD must lead his supporters to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Waliu Taiwo spoke against the backdrop of the decision of OGD to resign from active politics in an exclusive interview recently.

Why was Ladi Adebutu was not fielded by the PDP as its governorship candidate in Ogun State for the 2019 elections?

The issue had been on for about three years now. The same thing happened in 2011 and it happened in 2015, and this denied a lot of us the opportunity to be in Government. That was why we went to the PPN in 2011 with Otunba Gbenga Daniel, when the PDP did not approve our preferred governorship candidate then, Gboyega Nasir Isiaka aka GNI, who was from Ogun West.

Concerning the candidature of Hon. Ladi Adebutu for the 2019 governorship election in Ogun State, we thought that we would win and that the judgment could be set aside since he was being supported by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party. Unfortunately that was not to be. There was a court judgment affirming the Kashamu Buruji's exco in Ogun State as the authentic exco of the party. We were in a fix because our plan was for Ladi Adebutu to be the Governor of the state under the PDP. The road was blocked due to nobody' s fault. We were stranded and we had to look for an alternative so that our supporters would not be in the cold.

Was that why you decided to work for the APC Governorship candidate in the last election?

We the leaders from Ogun West started Ladi Adebutu governorship ambition. Having had bad experiences in trying to field a candidate from Ogun West in 2011, we decided to support someone from Ogun East this time around. GNI was fielded in 2011 under the PPN,  but some Yewa leaders went to convince Mr. Tunji Olurin to join the race under the PDP and that was how we lost the opportunity then. We had two candidates from Ogun West and one from the Central in 2011 and we lost to Ogun Central eventually, when Governor Ibikunle Amosun won the election under the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

 When the 2019 race started, we said that if anyone had a better way of doing this, he should come and convince us or else we will support another person since the INEC did not recognize Hon. Ladi Adebutu, who we supported as the governorship candidate of the party, but chose Senator Kashamu Buruji based on the judgment of the court. We were the first senatorial district to organise leaders to support Mr. Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC). They tried to convince us, but we felt the same thing that happened in 2011 would happen if we failed to do that because we had two candidates from Ogun West again. We started the movement to APC and the idea was sold to OGD as our leader. OGD wanted to resign from politics the 2019 Presidential and National Assembly Elections, and we said that was not possible because he is a former govenor. 

If we say we should support Ogun West, is it GNI of the ADC or Mr. Abdulkabir Akindele Akinlade of the All Progressives Movement (APM). If truly Governor Ibikunle Amosun wanted a Yewaman to be Governor, he would have supported GNI and drop Akinlade. 

People that were supporting Senator Adeola Olamilekan aka Yayi started supporting GNI as soon as Yayi was out of the picture. The people that supported GNI were the people that wanted a Yewaman as the Governor not the people that supported Akinlade. GNI was a better candidate, but we felt that the same thing that happened in 2011 would repeat itself of we were not careful. That thing that was wrong in 2011 had not been removed. If you add the vote of GNI to that of Akinlade, they would have won if they had come together and we would have had someone from Ogun West as Governor of Ogun State for the first time.

I was not consulted by Adebutu before he called a meeting after reaching an agreement with Governor Amosun. We felt insulted and our people at home were calling us bastards.  They wanted to assemble the leaders of Ogun West and Hon. Akinlade would now come and address us, we felt insulted by this arrangement. 

So, we decided to consult OGD as our leader. The candidate of the PDP was Buruji Kashamu and the party leaders said that they had expelled him from the PDP. How could we have supported someone that had been expelled from the party, so we had no choice than to go somewhere else. Kashamu was the legal candidate of the PDP, while Hon. Adebutu was the authentic candidate of the party, but the INEC would naturally recognise the candidate the judiciary recognized. That was why the name of Kashamu was published by the INEC.

Why did OGD call the meeting in his residence in Shagamu, Ogun State after the elections?

It was we the supporters of OGD that called the meeting in his Asoludero Court in Shagamu, Ogun State two weeks ago to tell him to lead us to the APC after we had worked for the success of the party at the governorship election.

We will continue to compel OGD to remain in politics and lead us to the APC  because he cannot abandon the boat at the middle of the sea. We were the ones that called the meeting because we heard that he was retiring from politics.

I raised three points to OGD at the meeting. I said where would he inherit his retirement from, is it from Chief  Obafemi Awolowo, from Abraham Adesanya, from Baba Ajasin, Tafawa Balewa or Nnamdi Azikiwe, these were great politicians, they never said that they wanted to retire from active politics.

The second one was that he virtually reconciled everybody and I said that ordinarily I would not have been at the meeting if not for the reconciliation. I said now he wanted to abandon us.

Thirdly, I said that we worked for the APC and reminded hm that he said he wanted to get us back into government. I said there was no way he could abandon us now because we want to benefit from the APC government after they have won the election. At that point, everybody stood up, some were prostrating and begging him not to abandon us and that he should lead us to the APC. But, in fairness to OGD, he has not said anything about our request yet.

There are insinuations that the meeting was stage managed by OGD so that it could appear as if he was being begged to join the APC. What do you say to that?

That is wrong. The people saying that the protest was stage managed by OGD have bad intentions. It was somebody that told us that OGD said he was going to quit politics, but we said that was not possible and we arranged the meeting in his house in Asoludero Court in Shagamu, Ogun State after the APC had won the governorship election. Our role in the election brought victory for the APC. Ladi Adebutu directed us to work for the APM, so some of our people worked for the APM, while the rest of us worked for the APC, so why are they talking about OGD only. The meeting was called at our instance.

OGD said he was quitting partisan politics, but we believed he would reverse it. We were free to support any party of our choice because the PDP didn't have a candidate for the election. There are no more political activities now, but we all agreed to move to the APC. 

OGD is a leader that believes in his followers. It was the followers that made the name OGD popular and he would listen to us rather than listening to the people that are saying rubbish.

We spoke to him and asked him to confirm to us if he had actually resigned from politics and he confirmed it, but we said he could not go anywhere. We will soon call another meeting to get his final response. Notable political leaders such as Chief Mrs. Iyabo Apampa, former Ogun State Deputy Governor, Salmot Badru and others were at the last meeting in OGD's residence in Shagamu, where we told him to lead us to the APC.