Daily Trust

The political rivalry between Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State and Speaker of the House of Representatives Dimeji Bankole came to the fore yesterday, when they clashed at the inauguration of the Sango-Ota flyover in the state. The incident  threw the ceremony into confusion.

Trouble started when Daniel, in company of Works Minister Sanusi Daggash, cut the tape to inaugurate the bridge, ahead of the arrival of the speaker from Abuja for the ceremony.

Daniel, after hurriedly inaugurating the bridge, entered a bus together with the minister and other members of his entourage when Bankole arrived.
Apparently irked by the manner the bridge was opened while he was already close to the venue of the ceremony, Bankole entered the bus and prevented Daniel and his team from plying the bridge. The Speaker was seen, sitting on the dashboard of the bus, dangling the key of the vehicle which he had seized from the driver.

There was confusion among the guests, including traditional rulers and the crowd who thronged the venue of the ceremony.
Earlier, the governor had condemned Bankole for claiming the credit of the project, saying it was initiated by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo. “Baba (Obasanjo) was the initiator of this project; our brother in Abuja is only bragging. Let them show us what they have done,” Daniel said.

Bankole’s spokesman Kayode Odunaro told newsmen that Bankole was only querying why the minister had to abandon him after inviting him to the ceremony, saying “Why did the minister allow the commissioning to take place, knowing that the speaker, who had rushed down from Abuja because of the ceremony was around?” (NAN)

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