Since Otunba Gbenga Daniel, the former Ogun State Governor decamped from the PDP to the APC a few months back there has been many speculations as to his game plan.
His decamping came to many within the PDP and APC fold as a BIG surprise. They both didn’t see it coming.
Of course, that immediately fuelled a lot of rumours. All sort of theories came up. Some felt he was eyeing the Presidency, since the general believe is that in the APC, the presidency will be coming to the South West. They felt he was being positioned by the powerful forces who brought him to battle Asiwaju Tinubu who is also believed to be interested in that position. Some felt he was eyeing the Senate. All sorts of permutation came up for consideration.
But last week City People gathered exclusively that OGD will be running for the Senate in Ogun East. That is his senatorial area and constituency. We can also confirm authoritatively that work is far gone on the project, as he has consulted widely.
We can also reveal that many Stakeholders in Ogun East have supported the move for OGD to pick the Ogun East Senatorial ticket, for many reasons.
Revealed an insider, they feel he is eminently qualified for the post and he is in fact the most qualified of all the aspirants who are jostling for the seat. Apart from having been a 2-term governor, he has operated at the National level as Head of Goodluck Jonathan’s Campaign Group in the South West and Head of Atiku’s Campaign Group at the National Level. He is also considered a big wig in Ogun East.
His pedigree is also likely to work for him. Whilst his father is from Sagamu Remo in Ogun State, his mum is a Princess from Omu Ijebu.
Both areas fall under Ogun East.
And as you read this he has garnered huge and tremendous support from the Remo & Ijebu people who didn’t think twice before rallying support for him.
He also had behind him the support of all the traditional rulers in Ijebu and Remo axis.
Over the years, OGD has enjoyed tremendous support from the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona who made OGD, Obalofin which is not a honourary chieftaincy title as many think. It is a traditional title bestowed on him because of his links with Ijebu.
OGD’s decision to contest has changed all the political permutations in Ogun East. This will pitch him against the incumbent Senator, Olalekan Mustapha who will be seeking a 2nd term. He is a member of Ogun APC, just like Daniel.
But he is on the other side of the divide. Right now Ogun APC has been sharply divided between Gov. Dapo Abiodun’s group on one hand and Senator Ibikunle Amosun’s group on the other. Whilst Senator Lekan Mustapha belongs to the Amosun caucus, Daniel is with the Abiodun camp. Daniel was one of those who brought in Abiodun as Governor.
Daniel was Governor of Ogun State from 29 May 2003 to 29 May 2011. He is the owner of Kresta Laurel, an Electro-Mechanical Engineering company, he started in 1990. He is also the Founder of Conference Group of Hotels with branches in Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu, Abeokuta and Isheri part of Lagos. As governor, his programs on Public Private Partnership attracted several businesses into the State during his tenure.
He was born on 6 April 1956 in Ibadan, Oyo State, to Christian parents, Most Rev. Adebola Daniel of Makun, Sagamu and Madam Olaitan Daniel of Omu-Ijebu. His father was a notable missionary of the Church of the Lord (Aladura) while his mother was a trader.
Daniel attended the Baptist Boys’ High School, Abeokuta from 1969 to 1973. While there, he represented the school in debates and quiz competitions – a factor that made him exceptionally popular among his contemporaries and stimulated his inclination towards intellectual pursuits. Having graduated from the Baptist Boys High School in flying colors, he proceeded first to the School of Basic Studies at The Polytechnic, Ibadan.
He attended Polytechnic Ibadan, 1974, for his Advanced Level (A’ Level) and thereafter moved to the School of Engineering of the University of Lagos. In his early years as an undergraduate, he won several scholarships and also became well acquainted with the renowned, Prof. Ayodele Awojobi as one of the best students of the late professor. It was whilst still an undergraduate, that he became indoctrinated into the select Committee of friends of the late Saga, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, indeed, as the youngest member of that select Committee that later metamorphosed into the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).
Daniel’s decision to study Engineering was influenced by the brilliant engineer and teacher Ayodele Awojobi. Daniel spent much time with Awojobi, and was a winner and champion several times over, on his television quiz show “Mastermind”.
During his National Service year at the School of Engineering of the Lagos State Polytechnic, he supervised the construction of the Engineering complex and also conducted the semester examinations for the School of Engineering. The feat was described by an appreciative management as “quite remarkable in an environment where examination fraud is quite rampant”. He earned a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Lagos and subsequently attended Lagos Business School for an Executive programme in 1990.
Daniel began his professional career as a Lecturer in the School of Engineering at the Lagos State Polytechnic during his National Youth Service year. He then proceeded to the Metal Construction (W/Africa) Limited which he left as the Assistant Commercial Manager.
In 1983, he joined the then multinational company, H.F.SCHROEDER West Africa Limited, Lagos. He rose to the position of Deputy Managing Director at Schroeder, becoming the first African to hold such a position in the company’s history.
In 1990, he left Schroeder to start Kresta Laurel, an engineering firm specializing in elevators, overhead travelling cranes and hoists. In 2017, he started KLL Construction Limited, to present a new kind of Construction Company that will stand the test of time.He is also the Chairman, Conference Hotels.
Gbenga Daniel at work at his residence, Abba Johnsoon Crescent , Ikeja, Lagos where Kresta Laurel took off.
In 2016, he was elected President of, Nigerian-Finnish Business Council to succeed Ambassador Olusegun Olusola who died in 2012. The Nigerian-Finnish Business Council was established to foster business relations between Nigerian companies and their counterparts in Finland with the goal of encouraging trade and investment.
Daniel is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE), a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (FNAEng) and Fellow of the Institute of Directors (FIoD)
As one of the youngest kitchen cabinet members of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Daniel was in charge of the Student Wing of the Unity Party of Nigeria in 1978, but his sojourn in the UPN was short-lived after his father drove to the University of Lagos with a clear instruction to concentrate on his academic pursuit and leave politics.
After graduation and establishment of Kresta Laurel, Gbenga Daniel joined the Yoruba social-cultural group Afenifere under the then leadership of Pa Abraham Adesanya. During the struggle against the military juntas and campaign for the reinstatement of the annulled June 12 election, Gbenga Daniel became one of the financiers of the National Democratic Coalition (Nigeria) NADECO providing supports to members who were fleeing the country to seek asylum abroad.
Gbenga Daniel’s campaign for the seat of the governor was described by political analysts as “electric” considering the fact that as a businessman, he defeated a sitting governor. His campaign was a revolution in the state in 2003 as he visited all the 236 wards of Ogun State, meeting with every stakeholder of every street and area in the state to sell his ideas. He received commendations for redefining campaign for political office in Nigeria
Daniel was elected governor of Ogun State in the 2003 Ogun State gubernatorial election, running on the PDP platform beating the incumbent with 217, 353 votes. His victory remains the biggest electoral victory in Ogun State. He scored 449,335 votes against the sitting governor who scored 231,982 votes recording the widest margin ever in Ogun state governorship race.
He acquired the chiefly title Otunba of the Egba and Ijebu clans of the state during the course of his first term. He was re-elected in April 2007. His April 2007 election was disputed by rival candidate Ibikunle Amosun of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), but in August 2009 the Ogun State Election Petitions Tribunal dismissed the petition.
He promoted entrepreneurship amongst young people through voracious youth development programmes. The Nigerian Youth Council of the state was massively empowered to help youths all over the state and many young people were appointed into notable political positions. Some of his other achievements while in office include building roads, recreational centres and stadiums in the three senatorial districts of the state, and setting up a University of Education. The Gateway International Stadium was a site of the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup which was held in Nigeria.
In February 2009, Daniel authorised the reduction of fees at the State-owned Moshood Abiola Polytechnic to ¦ 7,000. This followed negotiations with the National Association of Nigerian Students after parents and students had protested recent increases to fees.
Daniel started the Ogun State agro cargo airport in Ilishan-Remo, an international air cargo port dedicated to offering direct export of agricultural products in Ogun State and Southwest Nigeria to the international community. The airport plan also shows the provision for regular carriage for passengers plane for international flights. He established 3 free trade zones in each of the senatorial districts in Ogun State. The Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone Limited, Igbesa, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area; Olokola Free Trade Zone (OKFTZ); Olokola Deep Seaport and Kajola Free Trade Zone in Ifo.
In 2010 Daniel was appointed to lead the Goodluck Jonathan for President Campaign in the Southwest, Nigeria. True to his assignment, Jonathan won the election in the Southwest overwhelmingly in 2011 and became the first South-Southerner to ever rule over Nigeria.
In 2017, Gbenga Daniel contested for the position of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party. His campaign was adjudged by many as the sturdiest campaign at the time. He visited the entire 36 states and FCT to campaign for a fresh start for the party. However, on the day of the Convention, he submitted his letter of withdrawal after a consensus was reached by the party’s leadership to zone the position to the South-South
In 2018, Atiku Abubakar announced the appointment of Gbenga Daniel as the Director-general of his presidential campaign organisation. Daniel led the former Vice-President to victory in the presidential primary of the PDP in Port Harcourt despite the predictions of bookmarkers
In February 2021, Gbenga Daniel officially joined the All Progressive Congress (APC) after two years of leaving partisan politics and adopt the siddon look method of late Chief Bola Ige. In his remark during the ceremonial handing over of the broom symbol of the party, Daniel stated that his main goal in politics is to foster national unity and the development of the country. He was received into the party by 5 governors namely: Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello.
Shortly after joining the APC, Daniel was appointed by the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) to head the Media and Publicity Sub-Committee of the party as well as a member of the Contact/Strategy sub-committee.
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