The ongoing feud between Governor Dapo Abiodun and his predecessor, Senator Gbenga Daniel, has assumed a different dimension. All through the five-day activities heralding the burial ceremony of late Otunba Subomi Balogun, both men did their utmost best to avoid each other.
At a point, particularly during the wake for the founder of First City Monument Bank, FCMB, at Tunwase Court, Ijebu-Ode, Daniel took time out to exchange pleasantries with the First lady, Mrs Bamidele Abiodun. His wife, Yeye Olufunke, also exchanged pleasantries with the First lady and gave her a warm embrace to the amazement of many. But not the governor, who wanted to have nothing to do with the Daniels. He carried on like they didn’t exist.
The duo, who were hitherto friends, have been at each other’s throats particularly in the last two years. But just before the last general election, it got worse. Abiodun refused to support Daniel’s senatorial ambition, alleging that Daniel had thrown his weight behind Ladi Adebutu, his opponent in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and as such could not also support his senatorial ambition. At some point, a former governor of the state, Olusegun Osoba tried to persuade them to sheathe their warring swords. His intervention worked but only for a while. After Daniel’s win at the polls, he threw a lavish party in Abuja to celebrate it, with quite a number of political heavy weights in attendance. Abiodun and a few of his loyal politicians were conspicuously absent, further lending credence to the fact that both men are simply not interested in reconciliation.
Daniel however claims that the reason Abiodun is at war with him is because of his unflinching support for President Bola Tinubu during the APC 2023 presidential primaries, while Abiodun pitched his tent with former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. He also claimed that Abiodun was being delusional by relying on sycophants who fabricated stories for him, rather than being aware of people’s sentiments towards him at that time. With the latest gesture between their wives who are not in on the feud, many are hoping that they join forces together to put an end to their husbands’ long-drawn debacle.
Ivory Ukonu is a versatile journalist with many years of experience, with entertainment and society reporting as her area of core competence.
