A cloud of controversy is hanging over Ogun State politics after revelations that Governor Dapo Abiodun allegedly summoned selected traditional rulers to a closed-door meeting last Friday, August 8, where he threatened them with dethronement if the All Progressives Congress (APC) loses the forthcoming bye-election.
Multiple palace and political sources confirmed to our correspondent that the governor’s directive for the meeting was unusually strict: monarchs were told not to come in their personal vehicles, but were instead ferried to the venue in state-arranged buses — a move many believe was designed to control both attendance and secrecy.
Once seated, the governor reportedly dispensed with pleasantries and delivered a blunt warning — any royal father whose community fails to deliver votes for the APC could face removal from the throne.
“This wasn’t a consultation; it was a political ultimatum dressed as governance,” one source present at the meeting revealed under condition of anonymity. “The governor is nervous about the bye-election because the results will send a signal about his 2027 senatorial ambition.”
Governor Abiodun, whose tenure ends in 2027, is widely believed to be plotting a move to the Senate to represent Ogun East, a zone that includes several of the monarchs allegedly pressured at the meeting. The bye-election outcome, political analysts say, could either boost his credibility within the APC or weaken his grip on the party’s ticket.
Critics have condemned the incident as an abuse of executive power and an assault on the neutrality of the traditional institution. Civil society groups warn that such political arm-twisting erodes public trust and undermines the role of royal fathers as non-partisan custodians of culture.
“This is not just about a bye-election,” said a political commentator in Ijebu Ode. “This is about the governor using fear to secure his political future. It’s about 2027 — nothing more, nothing less.”
With tensions rising, the incident has deepened existing political fault lines in Ogun State, setting the stage for a bitterly contested bye-election that will serve as both a referendum on Governor Abiodun’s influence and a preview of the battles to come in his Senate quest.