By Folake Adeyemi,
Politics rewards those who show up when it matters. The appointment of Senator Gbenga Daniel as Deputy Zonal Coordinator I (South West) of the Contact and Mobilisation Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council is, in my view, a case of the right man being handed the right assignment.
Consider the timing. Ogun State politics is currently thick with intrigue, rival camps and loud posturing. In such seasons, a leader’s actions say more than his supporters’ press statements.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has, once again, spoken through action: Senator Daniel is his friend and ally, and he is trusted with one of the most sensitive committees in the campaign. Those still trying to read political tea leaves in Ogun would do well to read this one clearly.
The Contact and Mobilisation Directorate is not ceremonial. It is where goodwill is converted into Permanent Voter Cards, and where PVCs are converted into votes.
With Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, leading the committee, the party has signalled that it takes this assignment seriously.
For the South West, the message is plain: the region must deliver for the President, whose lasting impact depends on the votes it brings.
Daniel is well suited to that task. He is a former Governor of Ogun State and the Senator representing Ogun East, but his political weight has never stopped at the boundaries of one senatorial district. It is felt across Ogun and throughout the South West.
He also knows national campaigns from the inside, having served as Campaign Director-General for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. That is not experience one acquires from the sidelines.
Nor is he a politician who surfaces only at election time. Through the BATOGD Movement, which he founded, he is currently running an unprecedented medical outreach, and he is known for economic empowerment programmes that touch ordinary lives.
Mobilisation works best when it is built on genuine presence in communities, and that is exactly what he brings.
He will not work alone. Niyi Adebayo, Segun Oni and Akinwunmi Ambode share the zonal leadership with him, and each has points to prove.
The South West team is well prepared and well recommended, and the healthy competition among these political veterans may well be the region’s biggest asset.
The challenge now is delivery. Appointments are easy to celebrate; results are what history records.
If Senator Daniel brings his experience, his grassroots network and his reputation as a mobiliser to bear on this task, the South West will have little reason to fear for the outcome.
For now, one conclusion stands: Gbenga Daniel is a leader to reckon with.
