Steve Oliyide, the media aide to former governor of Ogun State and Senator representing Ogun East, Otunba Gbenga Daniel said that the senator is being persecuted by the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress because of Daniel's resolve to return to the Senate in 2027 as well as his rising profile and relationship with President Bola Tinubu.
Oliyide disclosed this on Thursday while reacting to the statement by the state chapter of the ruling party reaffirming the indefinite suspension slammed on Daniel in August and warning party members never to have anything to do with him
The party stated that the suspension still subsisted, warning that any engagements with the former governor as a member of the party remain invalid.
The party also said that it has written the APC National Chairman, drawing attention to what it described as Daniel’s “continued public disregard for party discipline” despite his suspension
The letter, according statement made available to journalists on Thursday by the Chief Press Secretary to Gov Dapo Abiodun, Lekan Adeniran was dated October 3, 2025 and jointly signed by the State Chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi, and State Secretary, Hon. Tella Aderibigbe.
The media aide however condemned the latest move of the party in the state describing it as "part of ongoing script, crafted purposely to frustrate Otunba Daniel out of the APC so as to have a solo run for the Ogun East Senate ticket come 2027"
Oliyide explained that "it is also a known fact that it is not the State Party organ that is reactive and behind the purported suspension but individuals who are afraid of the rising profile of Daniel and his relationship with the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu".
The state chapter of the party said that Daniel was suspended on August 19, 2025, a decision which was formally communicated to him. The party emphasized that, under the APC Constitution, a suspended member automatically loses all privileges and rights associated with party membership.
Quoting Article 21, subsection (vii) of the APC Constitution, the party stressed that a suspended member is stripped of voting rights, attendance at party meetings, and participation in party activities until the suspension is lifted.
“As part of the disciplinary processes outlined in our constitution, a member suspended pending investigation is expressly barred from participating in the proceedings of any party organ,” the statement noted.
The party urged government institutions, political actors, and the public to take note that Daniel cannot act or be recognized in any capacity as a member of APC while the suspension stands.
“Any and all dealings with Otunba Olugbenga Daniel in the capacity of a bona fide member of the APC are invalid, unrecognized, and of no effect to the Party,” the statement added.
The party reaffirmed its commitment to internal discipline, order, and adherence to constitutional guidelines.
Responding, Oliyide said that just like the purported suspension letter which the former governor never received till date, the recent letter which was claimed to have been written to the national leadership of the party also existed in the realm of conjecture.
He explained that otherwise it would not have been the business of the Governor's Chief Press Secretary to be circulating what was said to have been written by the party
Oliyide stated that "The Statement was not signed by anybody. But our investigation revealed that they were being circulated by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor.
"When has the CPS to the Governor becomes the Spokesperson to the party? These are some of the questions the journalists should ask them.
"Why was the statement not signed but quoting the State Chairman without showing a copy of the letter purportedly written to the National Chairman? I think they should be able to substantiate this with proof, including the purported suspension letter which no one has seen in all the months".
Oliyide disclosed further that the case at hand with Sen Daniel is like the Biblical "hands of Esau and voice of Jacob" saying that all of the dust being raised against the former governor was not by the party by some individuals feeling uncomfortable with the rising profile and relationship of Daniel with President Tinubu
He added that "It is still an ongoing script, crafted purposely to frustrate Otunba Daniel out of the APC so as to have a solo run for the Senate ticket"
Oliyide explained that "The fact of the matter is that their orchestrated "suspension" was purportedly carried out by an unknown Ward 4 Excos in Sagamu Local Government. A ward where Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel does not belong.
"The leaders and members of Ward 12 (Isote) in Sagamu where Senator Otunba Gbenga is actually registered as a member then petitioned the State Excos and copied the National Exco to protest the purported suspension of their member (Senator Daniel) by a wrong Ward.
"While the leaders and some members of Excos in Ward 4 also wrote a protest disclaiming they are not aware nor were they consulted before someone just went to the Facebook to announce a "suspension" that did not happen in the first place.
"We are aware that the leadership and members of the State Excos have been pressured several times to the point of threats to issue this so-called statement, but when they did not yield, the perpetrators resorted to using government machinery and operators to carry out the party assignments".
Recall that the state chapter of the ruling party had on August 20 placed indefinite suspension on Daniel, alongside one of his loyalists, Kunle Folarin
The duo were suspended for alleged anti-party misconduct.
The Director of Publicity of the state chapter of the ruling party, Nuberu Olufemi, disclosed this in a statement issued to journalists
According to the statement, the decision to suspend Daniel and Folarin, both members of the APC from Ward 4 and Ward 6 in Sagamu Local Government Area, respectively, was taken at the State Working Committee meeting presided over by the state chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi.
Daniel and the state government had also locked horns over contravention and demolition notices served on the former governor's Asoludero private residence as well as his Conference Hotel all situated within the GRA, Sagamu.
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