Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has escaped the re-election trap set against him winning narrowly over his Peoples Democratic Party, PDP rival Ladi Adebutu in a close election call interlaced with intrigues.
Newsmen report that Abiodun prevailed with 276,298 votes to the 262383 votes scored by his closest challenger, Adebutu of the PDP. Biyi Otegbeye polled 94, 754 votes in the closely fought election.
Abiodun pulled through despite serious opposition by some former governors of the state and notably his immediate predecessor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun who was said to have quietly backed Adebutu despite being in different political parties.
Adebutu cemented his relationship with Amosun after he picked Adekunle Akinlade, who was Amosun preference as successor in 2019 as his running mate in the 2023 contest.
The PDP candidate also did very well in the Ijebu areas said to be under the control of another former governor, Mr Gbenga Daniel. Daniel has just won election to the senate on the platform of the APC and there are whispers as to why the PDP did very well in the areas known to be under his control in Ijebu land.
Meanwhile, Otegbeye from the Egbado area of the state expectedly trailed upon the known low electoral strength of his region.
With his feat in winning re-election Governor Abiodun would now be in pole position to push forward his agenda.
