The Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Governor Dapo Abiodun of engaging in a political vendetta following the state government’s move to demolish the residence and hotel of former Governor, Gbenga Daniel.
According to the PDP, the rift between Abiodun and Daniel, who currently represents Ogun East in the Senate, is tied to their alleged interest in the same senatorial seat in 2027.
The party claimed Daniel is preparing to seek re-election, while the governor, who lost the seat to the late Buruji Kashamu in 2015, is eyeing the position at the end of his second term.
Reacting, the governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, advised the PDP to “focus on resolving its internal crisis” rather than meddling in state affairs.
Akinmade maintained that government policies were guided by law and public interest, not partisan considerations.
Earlier on Saturday, Daniel alleged that Governor Abiodun had ordered the demolition of his private residence in Sagamu, The Asoludero Court, Conference Hotels Limited, and its annexe.
In a statement by his media aide, Steve Oliyide, the senator stated that the order was communicated through contravention, quit, and demolition notices pasted on the properties on Friday, August 8, at approximately 4 p.m., with a three-day deadline.
Copies of the notices cited provisions of the 2022 Urban and Regional Planning Law of Ogun State as the basis for the planned demolition.
Daniel dismissed the allegations of contravention as “laughable,” describing the governor’s action as “political vindictiveness at its highest shameful level.”
He said, “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.
“For instance, the Asoludero Court was built in 2004, while the Conference Hotel Sagamu was built in 2013, and the annex since 2015. The governor’s administration is now attempting to use the Ogun State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law No. 61 of 2022 to demolish buildings that were legally constructed long before the law was even in existence.
“This action is not only politically motivated but also a blatant disregard for due process and the rule of law. The notices themselves are clear breaches of procedures, which allow adequate time intervals between notifications on contraventions, quits, and the penalties, if indeed there was any, which 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.”
However, the governor, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, dismissed the allegation.
He stated that the ongoing audit exercise in Sagamu GRA was a routine government exercise that affected every other resident.
The governor clarified that the exercise was never intended to target any individual’s property, regardless of their political leanings.
Akinmade said, contrary to “falsehood being peddled by the former governor,” the auditing exercise was to pave the way for the government’s urban renewal project, which it had started at GRA Ibara, Abeokuta, and now wanted to extend to its GRAs in Ijebu Ode and Sagamu.
He said, “Rather than resorting to cheap blackmail, the government stated that all Daniel needed to do was to have provided the government-approved documents for his properties in the Government Reserved Area.”
The statement reads, “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 a 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.”
Speaking with Sunday Punch on the matter, the State Secretary of the PDP, Sunday Solarin, said the government’s action was borne out of an intra-party crisis between the two APC leaders.
Solarin said, “This is nothing but abuse of office, which is condemnable. Some of us knew it would get this dirty; it is about an intra-party crisis between the former governor and Governor Dapo Abiodun that has been badly managed.
“At the centre of this brouhaha is the Ogun East senatorial seat, which Abiodun is eyeing to occupy after his second term in 2027, and Daniel too is also re-contesting.
“The governor thinks that he can use his office to intimidate Daniel, whereas what he is supposed to do is to improve on his performance and see if his performance can earn him the ticket.
“PDP condemns this approach of the governor. Whatever excuses are given are just face-saving because the properties of Otunba Gbenga Daniel are not only in Ogun State; he has properties in Lagos, Abuja, and why is no one threatening to also want to demolish those properties? It is bad bele politics that should be condemned by all.”
Speaking with Sunday Punch about the PDP’s claims, Akinmade accused the opposition party of attempting to shield certain individuals from legal scrutiny due to their past political positions.
He said, “They (PDP) should face their dead party and not meddle in government affairs; they should allow the government to run the way it should be.
“Government policy is not about a political party; it is about the government and the people. Nobody should be above the law in the country, and the law should be sacrosanct. If the law says that for you to have a property in a particular area in the state, you must have certain permits, that should not be negotiable because the essence of it is to protect the lives of the people and the environment.
“We must run away from turning some people into demigods because of the past positions they have held. Nobody is untouchable, so if a moribund political party is now trying to meddle in the affairs of the state, it should face its problems.
“Are they saying that because they belonged to the same political party, the government should not do the needful for posterity?”
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