Following the refusal of the Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, to sign an All Progressives Congress, APC agreement of power sharing in the State, foot soldiers loyal to former Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, might be on their way to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the State.

Information available to HorizonTimes has it that close allies of the former Governor have decided to team up with the PDP against Dapo Abiodun ahead of the 2023 General election.

The former Governor was said not to be in the same page with the foot soldiers many of whom were said to have confronted him and disagreed with him on the need to work with Abiodun.

HorizonTimes reports that a reconciliation committee set up by the NWC had recommended a power sharing formular in seven states, including Ogun State, following protracted crises in the states Chapters of the APC.

The APC has lost many serving Senators and former Governors to the opposition PDP, while many are still expected to move in the coming month following irreconcilable disagreements after the primaries.

Many aggrieved Senators, Tuesday, met with President Muhammadu Buhari on the need to resolve their grievances amidst growing fear that many of them might dump the Party in the coming days.

In making the recommendations, the committee had feared the likelihood of APC losing many Senators most of whom are former Governors of the Party to the PDP.

It says, “We take into consideration the fact that the main opposition party is anxiously waiting to cash in on the crisis of the party in the states and it is ready to give automatic tickets to all members of the APC who may defect to it.

“We, therefore, consider it imperative for Mr President to be fully involved in this reconciliation process because of its urgency and impact on the party. We cannot afford to lose strong members to the PDP at this critical moment of the party.”

In Ogun State, the committee had recommended Amosun supports the Governor and his deputy, Naimot Salako-Oyedele, for a second term in office, while the governor concedes some elective positions to Amosun and his supporters.

In an exclusive report by HorizonTimes, it was revealed that the NWC had recommended two Senatorial tickets in Ogun Central and Ogun West to be conceded to the former Governor as compensation.

The Committee also recommended four out of nine House of Representatives ticket (Two in Ogun Central and one each in Ogun West and East) and 11 out of 26 House of Assembly tickets to Amosun's supporters.

Amosun was said to have agreed and signed the agreement to support Dapo Abiodun for a second term, but Abiodun has bluntly refused the power sharing arrangement of the NWC, it was gathered.

A source close to the PDP in the State revealed to HorizonTimes that all was set for the defection of Amosun's foot soldiers to the Party.

The source, who confided in HorizonTimes, hinted that the arrangement to work together was reached at powerful meetings held outside the country in the last weeks.

The Source further revealed that PDP had agreed to concede some tickets to the decamping team including deputy governorship slot, a Senate ticket, some House of Representatives ticket a number of House of Assembly tickets, and other party executive positions.

The governorship candidate of the PDP in the State, 'Ladi Adebutu, was said to have agreed to the proposal, but one of the intending decampees who also confirmed the move to HorizonTimes on the condition of anonymity, however revealed that Amosun was not in support of the move.

The decision was said to have decided the Amosun political family along two lines.

"Amosun is not in support of the move, but majority of leaders in the camp have decided, thought, they have not been able to convince the former Governor, but a decision has been made with or without the former Governor.

"The leaders have told him point blank that they are not ready to wait with an unwilling Dapo for another four years. Amosun didn't agree and he's not moving with the team despite not contesting this time around, but we have decided and Amosun is still our leader.

"We go to wherever he's going, we are still loyal to him, but not on Dapo Abiodun. The Abuja arrangement has been communicated to the party members, only for Dapo to refuse the proposal," the source said.

To this end, HorizonTimes gathered that some of the foot soldiers of the former Governor have resigned their membership of APC, while more are on the verge of resigning in the coming days.

Amongst those who were gathered to have resigned from APC are the former Deputy Speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly, Tola Banjo; a former Chairman of Ado-Odo Ota local government, Rotimi Rahmon popularly called Arugbo; a former member of Ogun of Representatives, Mikky Kassim, amongst others.

Both Arugbo and Kassim were House of Representatives aspirants in the just concluded primaries in Ado-Odo Ota and Abeokuta South respectively.

Other to also resign in the coming days, it was gathered, are the Amosun-backed governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM in the 2019 general election, Adekunle Akinlade and a governorship aspirant in the just concluded governorship primaries, Biyi Otegbeye.

Otegbeye who contested the primaries against Abiodun alongside Akinlade, scored one vote during the primaries, but the one vote was recorded as void votes and zero recorded for him. Another one vote was also reported to have been voided for Akinlade during the primary.

A member of House of Representatives representing Egbado South/Ipokia Federal Constituency, Kola Lawal is also expected to seek re-election on the platform of the PDP.

While Akinlade is being considered to emerge the deputy governorship candidate of the PDP, Otegbeye is being rooted as the Senatorial candidate of PDP in Ogun West.

It will be recalled that Adebutu, during the 2019 general election also threw his support behind the candidacy of Akinlade in APM, after losing the PDP ticket to late Senator Buruji Kashamu.

Akinlade emerged the first runner-up in the election after scoring 222, 153 votes to trail Abiodun who emerged winner of the election with 241, 670 votes.

The game may appear like the 2019 election, but the indices that will determine the election in 2023 might be different from the 2019 scenario.

Governor Abiodun now has in his group, the second runner up in the 2019 election, a three-term governorship candidate in Ogun State, Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka of the then African Democratic Party, ADC. He scores 110, 422 in that election.

The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, who came 4th in the election with 9, 666 votes through Action Democratic Party, ADP, is also in the APC and believed to be in Abiodun's camp even when nothing was conceded to him during the primaries.

But the popularity of the Governor amongst the electorate, as expected of a second-term-seeking Governor, has declined.