‘Enforcing Party Rules Is Not Persecution’, Aduwo Cautions Gbenga Daniel Over Ogun APC Caucus Meeting Row

The President of the Centre for Convention on Democratic Integrity (CCDI), Mr. Olufemi Aduwo, has described attempts to portray recent developments within the Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as evidence of exclusion or persecution against anyone as unconvincing and misleading.

According to Aduwo, such claims reflect a selective reading of events and a disregard for the operational realities of political party organisation. He noted that the controversy surrounding Senator Gbenga Daniel and the APC caucus meeting in Ijebu-Ode has been overstated, stressing that what occurred was the routine enforcement of accreditation procedures, not any form of political conspiracy.

“No serious political organisation operates without rules governing access to its internal meetings. Accreditation is essential to order, security and institutional credibility. To present adherence to such procedures as victimisation is to fundamentally misread their purpose,” he stated.

Aduwo further observed that the APC in Ogun State, like any major political party, accommodates internal competition and disagreement, which do not amount to institutional breakdown but are inherent features of democratic politics.

He also referenced the 2023 electoral cycle, noting that allegations regarding Senator Daniel’s political alignment during the governorship contest inevitably influenced internal perceptions, regardless of their substantiation. Despite this, he maintained that the party remained cohesive and electorally successful.

“It is a matter of record that Senator Daniel’s senatorial candidacy in 2023 emerged from internal party arrangements and political accommodation, including the decision of a sitting Senator to step aside. This underscores the primacy of collective decision-making over individual entitlement,” Aduwo added.

He emphasised that a caucus meeting is not a platform for personal assertion but a regulated forum governed by rules binding on all members. Recasting the enforcement of such procedures as exclusion, he said, wa disingenuous.

Commenting on leadership within the state, Aduwo stated that Governor Dapo Abiodun has demonstrated political responsibility by maintaining cohesion amid internal tensions through a balance of firmness and restraint.

He further advised that, at this stage, it would be more constructive for Senator Daniel to embrace a reflective posture consistent with elder statesmanship, noting that figures such as Chief Olusegun Osoba and Senator Ibikunle Amosun have transitioned into roles where influence is exercised through counsel rather than electoral contest.

Aduwo concluded that political parties are sustained by discipline, not sentiment and cautioned against elevating routine procedural enforcement into narratives of persecution.