Seyi Bakare: Sponsored attacks on Abiodun, Tinubu expose desperation

The recent effort to weaponize media propaganda against Governor Dapo Abiodun has once again highlighted the desperation of former Governor Gbenga Daniel and his loyal propagandists. They continue to believe that repeating falsehoods and sponsoring negative narratives can shift public perception in Ogun State.

Ogun residents are politically sophisticated and well aware of the tactics of manufactured outrage, emotional blackmail, and deliberate distortion of facts. No amount of sponsored bitterness can erase the visible progress and stability achieved under Governor Abiodun’s administration.

The article titled “Tinubu, Abiodun, and the Cost of Rewarding Rebellion” is not an objective political commentary. It represents another calculated attempt to settle political scores through revisionist history, misinformation, and subtle incitement.

For the record, Governor Abiodun entered office through a legitimate democratic and party process, not through rebellion. Political disagreements existed at the time—as they often do in every political party—but disagreement does not equate to betrayal or victimhood.

What is increasingly evident is the sustained effort by Senator Gbenga Daniel to undermine the APC structure in Ogun State whenever events do not align with his personal ambitions. The pattern is familiar: sponsor negative stories, attack party leadership, spread false narratives, and attempt to create artificial public sympathy.

It is even more unfortunate that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been dragged into local political bitterness. Deriding the President and invoking his name to manufacture outrage has remained part of OGD’s long‑established political style, further confirming what many already know—that he has little respect for the President and for party loyalty.

His political history shows that loyalty, for him, is often tied more to personal interest than conviction. Nigerians have not forgotten how OGD aligned with elements within Afenifere to undermine Bola Tinubu politically during his time as governor. Several negative stories and political attacks were planted then in a desperate bid to position himself as an alternative power bloc in the South‑West.

The same OGD openly aligned with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar against the political interests of the APC and President Tinubu’s political agenda during the 2015 and 2019 elections, only to quietly rejoin the APC days after Atiku’s presidential defeat to former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Even within the APC, his actions during the 2023 elections continue to raise serious concerns among party faithful, following repeated allegations of anti‑party activities targeted at Governor Abiodun. Those actions and the surrounding political bitterness still follow him today.

That is why many are no longer surprised by the latest attacks and political theatrics. There is a growing belief that OGD may again abandon the party whenever personal ambitions are threatened, as he has done repeatedly in the past.

It is also ironic that those who supervised one of the most politically turbulent eras in Ogun State—a period marked by violence, intimidation, killings, and unrest—now attempt to lecture others about democracy, loyalty, and political morality.

The truth remains that harmful narratives do not endure forever. Ogun residents can see the difference between genuine governance and desperate propaganda.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains focused on governance and national development, while Governor Abiodun continues to consolidate infrastructure, economic growth, and social development in Ogun State. The APC in Ogun remains united, focused, and stronger ahead of 2027 despite repeated attempts by frustrated political actors to create division where none exists.