The Office of Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel has taken note of the statement credited to one Olufemi Akindele, purportedly speaking on behalf of an organization called the Centre for the Advocacy of Human Rights and Social Justice (CAHRSC). We respond not because the statement merits serious engagement, but because deliberate falsehoods left unchallenged have a way of masquerading as facts.
We begin with the most fundamental problem: CAHRSC does not exist.
A search of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) database, the Nigerian NGO Coordination and Regulation Commission, and any credible civil society directory yields no record of the Centre for the Advocacy of Human Rights and Social Justice. No registration. No footprint. No history. This is not a minor administrative oversight. It is a deliberate fabrication, a Potemkin organization conjured specifically to launder political attacks and grant them a veneer of institutional credibility. When a man speaks on behalf of a ghost, his words carry the full weight of that ghost: nothing.
This alone should end the conversation. But we will proceed.
On the Claim that Governor Dapo Abiodun Lifted Otunba Gbenga Daniel From “Political Obscurity”
This assertion is not merely false. It is laughable to anyone acquainted with the political history of Ogun State. Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel served two full terms as Executive Governor of Ogun State from 2003 to 2011, transforming the state’s infrastructure, industrialization drive, and educational landscape in ways that remain visible today. 12 years later, he was elected to represent Ogun East Senatorial District in the National Assembly by the votes of his own people.
Governor Dapo Abiodun’s political career was indeed supported during a critical electoral season, but that support flowed from a man of towering stature to an aspirant who needed consolidation. The historical record does not support a narrative of rescuing anyone from obscurity. If anything, the moral question runs in the opposite direction: what does a sitting governor owe the political capital who has invested in his ambition?
On the “31 Questions” Document
Akindele describes the document as “crude, libelous fabrication.” Notably, he does not answer a single question contained therein. That is telling. Libelous material is material that is false and damaging. If these questions are false, the remedy is simple: answer them. Provide the facts. Show the receipts. The instinct to attack the messenger rather than engage the questions is not the posture of innocence. It is the instinct of evasion.
The questions reportedly touch on governance failures, budget utilization, and accountability gaps that concern the people of Ogun State. Dismissing them as blackmail without substantive answers is itself an answer.
On Alleged Party Infractions
Akindele accuses Senator Daniel of “fraternizing with opposition elements” and playing a “double game.” These are characterizations, not evidence. The Senator has consistently operated within the constitutional and democratic space available to any elected official. That space includes the right to political association, public commentary, and constituency representation. If there are specific infractions under the APC constitution, the party’s disciplinary mechanisms exist for that purpose. Proxy smear campaigns through phantom NGOs are not those mechanisms.
Furthermore, the reference to “suspension” requires context: Senator Daniel has challenged any such actions through legitimate legal channels. The courts, not media proxies, are the appropriate forum.
On Endorsements and the Central Question This Entire Drama Avoids
Here is the question Akindele and his principal refuse to answer directly:
Why, after nearly seven years as Executive Governor of Ogun State, why has Dapo Abiodun refused to declare his senatorial ambition openly, in his own name, before the people he governs?
A man confident in the will of his people does not need surrogates to “endorse” him into a race he has not officially entered. He does not need phantom civil society groups issuing pre-emptive attack statements on his behalf. He does not need to canvass endorsements from traditional rulers, party stakeholders, and community groups while carefully avoiding the words: “I, Dapo Abiodun, I am running for Senate.”
This is not a train that has left the station. This is a man who has been standing at the platform for two years, asking everyone around him to confirm that the train is a good idea, while refusing to board it publicly. The question Ogun East voters deserve answered is: Why?
Is the Governor uncertain of his reception? Is he testing political temperatures he should, after seven years in power, already know? Or is he simply unwilling to expose himself to the accountability that a formal declaration invites?
The people of Ogun East are watching. And as Akindele himself correctly notes, they are far too discerning for theatrics.
In Conclusion, Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel remains focused on his legislative responsibilities, his constituents in Ogun East, and the democratic processes ahead. He will not be distracted by statements from organizations that do not exist, authored by individuals whose only credential is proximity to political desperation.
When CAHRSC registers with the CAC, publishes an address, and demonstrates a history of advocacy that predates this statement, we may revisit the standing of its spokesperson. Until then, this response is more than it deserves.
Signed:
Media Office of Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel
Ogun East Senatorial District
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