The Bola Ahmed Tinubu/Otunba Gbenga Daniel (BATOGD) Movement has commended its members and supporters for their discipline in complying with Sunday’s stay-away directive ahead of Monday’s All Progressives Congress Ogun East Senatorial District primary election, and has now called on them to participate fully in the remaining APC primary exercises.
The movement’s statement, issued Tuesday and signed by 37 of its leading figures drawn from across the Ogun East Senatorial District, came under the title “Restoration Beyond Ebenezeri”, framed as both a thanksgiving and a rallying call.
It would be recalled that on Sunday evening, the BATOGD Movement leadership issued an urgent directive calling on all its members to stay away from Monday’s senatorial primary election, citing credible threats of violence, the deployment of miscreants, and the intimidation of supporters by agents of the state government. The movement had insisted it would not subject its people to danger in the pursuit of any political ambition, however legitimate.
The movement said Tuesday that the decision had been vindicated. “The tactical stay away directive from the leadership averted what could have been the worst political bloodshed on innocent participants in the history of Senatorial Primary elections in the State,” the statement declared.
The group reserved particular praise for Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel, commending him for honoring the movement’s counsel. “We thank His Excellency Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel for heeding the advice of the Movement, confirming that his ambition is not worth sacrificing the lives of his people,” the statement read, adding: “We believe he is one of the heroes of this democratic process.”
Notwithstanding the controversy surrounding the senatorial primary, the BATOGD Movement was unequivocal in affirming its continued loyalty to the APC and to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. “The Movement remains firmly committed to the ideals of internal democracy, party unity, and the visionary leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR,” the statement said.
In what analysts may read as a significant signal, the movement drew a clear distinction between the senatorial primary it boycotted and the broader APC primary schedule, calling on all its members, supporters, and associates to “actively join and participate fully in the remaining APC primaries, particularly the Governorship and Presidential party elections.”
The statement was signed by prominent figures including General (Rtd.) Olumuyiwa Okunowo, Akogun Kola Onadipe, Rt. Hon. Remmy Hassan, Rt. Hon. Oludare Kadiri, Dr. Babatunde Onadeko, and Aremo Babatunde Adesanya, among others spanning all local government areas of the Ogun East Senatorial District including Ijebu Ode, Ijebu North, Sagamu, Remo North, Odogbolu, Ikenne, Ijebu East, Ijebu North East, and Ogun Waterside.
The development signals that despite the tensions surrounding Monday’s senatorial primary, the BATOGD structure intends to remain an active and organised force within the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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Seunmanuel Faleye is a brand and communications strategist. He is a covert writer and an overt creative head. He publishes Apple’s Bite International Magazine.
