Gov Abiodun not after Gbenga Daniel – Ogun govt
The Ogun State Government has debunked claims that Governor Dapo Abiodun is after former Governor Gbenga Daniel.
Abiodun’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, refuted the claims in a statement on Saturday.
“The attention of the Ogun State Government has been drawn to a press statement issued by the Media Office of the Senator representing Ogun East and a former Governor of Ogun State, His Excellency, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, on Saturday, August 9, 2025 and titled “Political Persecution as Governor Abiodun Issues Quit, Demolition Notices on Daniel’s Properties in Ogun State”,” Akinmade said.
“The statement written in extremely bad taste and with intent to cause disaffection and foment chaos in the state alleges that Governor Dapo Abiodun posted Notices of Contravention, Quit and threats of demolition on the Asoludero Court Sagamu private residence of Gbenga Daniel, the Conference Hotels Limited, Sagamu and the hotel Annex of the former Governor of Ogun State, with intent to illegally demolish those properties.
“The statement framed the said notices purportedly received on Friday, August 8, as a clear demonstration of ‘malicious and vindictive abuse of power, hiding behind a newly enacted law retroactively to target a political opponent.’ Nothing can be further from the truth.
“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 being propagated by the statement in question, the Ogun State Government is not engaged in any untoward move against Otunba Gbenga Daniel in any way.”
Akinmade said the fact of the matter, quite simply, is that in his holistic approach to development efforts across the length and breadth of Ogun, Governor 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 the state’s towns and cities through urban renewal.
He said Abiodun started with the Ibara Government Reserved Area (GRA) in Abeokuta, the state capital, and is being extended to Sagamu and Ijebu-Ode GRAs.
Akinmade explained that this initiative involves auditing existing developments within these areas to determine the permit status of all types of developments, including houses, schools, hospitals, and other commercial buildings.
According to him, this is a statutory and due process requirement that will provide information for any government intervention, adding that this informed the development audit exercise currently being carried out simultaneously in both Ijebu-Ode and Sagamu GRAs.
He stated that Otunba 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, just like many other structures were also similarly served.
Akinmade said the exercise is a continuous one until the objective of the 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,” he said.
“All Otunba Gbenga Daniel needs to do, like every other person in a 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 against Governor Abiodun, who obviously holds him in high esteem.
“Since his referenced buildings must have conformed to 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?”
Akinmade added that no one should assign impure motives to a routine procedure and that if anyone is after Senator Daniel, it is certainly not Governor Abiodun.
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