Ogun govt battles Gbenga Daniel over alleged demolition plot

By Adejoke Adeleye

The Ogun Government has dismissed claim by ex-governor Gbenga Daniel that Governor Dapo Abiodun has perfected plans to demolish his private residence and other properties.

Daniel had in a statement on Friday claimed that Governor Abiodun has perfected plans to demolish of his Sagamu private residence, The Asoludero Court, Conference Hotels Limited, as well as the hotel annexe.

He cited notices of contravention, quit, and threat of demolition within the next three days which, according to him, were pasted on the properties on Friday, August 8 at about 4pm to back his claim.

“The documents, concerning these properties cite ‘suspected’ offences related to construction without adequate permits (which is laughable).

“This is a ludicrous and flimsy excuse, as the properties in question have been in existence for many years,” Daniel said while describing the move as “nothing but a clear political persecution,”

According to him, Asoludero Court was built in 2004, Conference Hotel in 2013, and the annex in 2015, long before the Ogun State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law No. 61 of 2022 came into effect.

“The governor’s administration is now attempting to use [this law] to demolish buildings that were legally constructed long before the law was even in existence,” Daniel alleged.

“This action is not only politically motivated but also a blatant disregard for due process and the rule of law. The notices in themselves are clear breaches of procedures which allows adequate time intervals between. Notifications on contraventions, quits and the penalties, if indeed there was any, is not a demolition or a threat of it.”

“Governor Abiodun’s administration has completely bypassed this procedure, issuing a ‘Notice of Contravention’ and a ‘Notice to Quit’ simultaneously, with an immediate threat of demolition. This is not a legal process; it is a thuggish tactic designed to intimidate and inflict damage.”

Daniel also recalled that September 2023, DATKEM Plaza in Ijebu Ode, belonging to his wife, Yeye Olufunke Daniel was demolished in the midnight by thugs believed to be working on the orders of the governor” under “equally flimsy excuses.”

“The matter is currently in court, and the state has already lost several applications… a clear indication that their actions lack legal merit,” Daniel said.

He called on “all well-meaning citizens, human rights organisations, and legal bodies” to condemn what he described as “this egregious abuse of power,” adding, “We will not be silent in the face of this injustice and will use all legal means at our disposal to ensure that Governor Abiodun is held accountable for his lawless actions.”

But while dismissing the claim, Abiodun, in a statement by special adviser on media, Kayode Akinmade, said the the government wasn’t after the Senator contrary to his claim.

Rather, he said the government was only interested in verifying building documentation.

It also added that similar notices were pasted on other properties in the area.

“Of course, in what has become a familiar pattern, Senator Daniel and his Media Office have been ascribing political motives to a routine procedure, suggesting that they have something to hide and do not mind using underhand tactics to achieve their sinister objectives.

“Contrary to the blatant distortions of facts and egregious purveyors of falsehood been propagated by the statement in question, the Ogun State Government is not engaged in any untoward move against Otunba Gbenga Daniel in anyway.

“The fact of the matter, quite simply, is that in his holistic approach to development efforts across the length and breadth of Ogun State, His Excellency, Governor Dapo Abiodun, has embarked not only on building new communities as exemplified by the affordable housing estates and the yellow roof revolution but also on the redevelopment of Ogun State’s towns and cities through urban renewal.

“This, he started with Ibara GRA in Abeokuta, the state capital, and is being extended to Sagamu and Ijebu-Ode GRAs. This initiative involves the auditing of existing developments within these areas in order to determine the permit status of all types of developments, including houses, schools, hospitals and other commercial buildings.

“This is a statutory and due process requirement which will provide information for any government intervention. And this informed the development audit exercise currently being carried out simultaneously both in Ijebu-Ode and Sagamu GRAs.

Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s building happens to be within the Sagamu GRA and among those that were served notices as required under the Town Planning Law and Regulation of Ogun State. Many other structures were also similarly served.

The exercise is a continuous one until the objective of government for the exercise is achieved. This process is not new. It had been in existence and operated even during his tenure as Governor of the State. The GRA is a government designed and allocated estate and it is subject to regulatory and oversight functions of government in perpetuity.

All Otunba Gbenga Daniel needs to do, like every other person’s in similar situation that have been served with such notices in that neighbourhood, is to present his planning permit and land title to the relevant government Agency office for verification within the time specified in the notices rather than resorting to cheap blackmail. There are no exemptions under the law except as permitted by that Law.

“Did the distinguished senator not conduct a check around the neighbourhood before hastily rushing to the media to demonise Governor Dapo Abiodun and his administration, as usual? The statement in question jumped the gun by saying that the Government is focusing on Senator Daniel. That is a barefaced lie.

“It is the duty of the Government to carry out audits and for someone who has been in office as Governor and who is now a Senator to be crying wolf is highly unfortunate.

“It seems that Senator Gbenga Daniel and his crew will do anything they can to drag the name of Governor Dapo Abiodun into every issue imaginable just to score cheap political points. This is not a hallmark of statesmanship, a topic that the distinguished senator likes to talk about with flourish; it is a dark tactic.

Nobody is bigger than the State. Senator Gbenga Daniel is distinguished no doubt, but he is not bigger than Ogun State. He should submit himself unreservedly to the same laws he once swore twice to uphold.

“He should refrain from elevating every issue of his contact with government institutions to a personal vendetta by Governor Abiodun, who obviously holds him in high esteem.

“Since his referenced buildings must have conformed with government regulations, there should not be any problem. The distinguished Senator knows the law and has presumably abided by it, so why is he crying foul instead of simply complying with lawful directive, supremely confident in the knowledge that he has done no wrong, and knowing the rights afforded him by the Constitution and the courts?

“No one should assign impure motives to a routine procedure. If anyone is after Senator Gbenga Daniel, it is certainly not the Governor of Ogun State,” the Ogun State Government said.