Who Took The Govt To Court – Amosun Fires Back At Abiodun Over Buhari Estate Claim

The former governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, has dismissed claims by his successor, Governor Dapo Abiodun, that he stopped the forfeiture of President Muhammadu Buhari’s estate in Abeokuta.

Naija News understands that Abiodun had alleged there was a legal dispute arising from unpaid fees to the project’s contractor and an alleged threat of forfeiture.

However, speaking via a statement titled “The Rescue of PMB Estate by Gov Dapo Abiodun: The Limit of Falsehood,” issued on Monday by his media office, Amosun argued that the project was almost completed before he left office.

The former governor described Abiodun’s claim as a distortion of the estate’s history,

He said the estate’s infrastructure contract, valued at about ₦3.5bn, had been fully mobilised and was approximately 95 per cent complete before the end of his administration.

According to the statement, the estate was developed on approximately 500 hectares of acquired land along the Abeokuta-Sagamu Expressway.

The media office said the infrastructure contract was valued at approximately ₦3.5bn and that the contractor, ZCC, had been fully mobilised.

“More importantly, sufficient funding was available against the outstanding works to enable the contractor to complete the project,” it said.

The statement insisted that the project had reached approximately 95 per cent completion by May 2019.

“This is not conjecture. It is verifiable and documented in the formal handover notes of the supervising ministry,” it said.

Amosun’s media office said it did not want to initially respond to the allegation.

However, it said the latest claims about the PMB Estate warranted a response because they allegedly went beyond political disagreement to an attack on Amosun’s personal integrity.

“We did not respond, not because the allegations possessed merit, nor because their authors had uncovered anything capable of unsettling our record.

“We remained silent because we considered the continuing peace, dignity and stability of our dear state more important than exchanging words with those who appear to require our name as an explanation for their own stewardship,” the statement said.

It argued that “governance cannot remain a perpetual press conference about one’s predecessor,” adding that every administration must eventually be judged by its own record.

“At some point, excuses expire, propaganda becomes threadbare, and every administration must stand before the people on the strength, or weakness, of its own record,” it said.

According to the media office, virtually all the infrastructure listed by the Abiodun administration had been completed under the Amosun administration and inaugurated as part of Ogun State’s 40th anniversary celebrations by former President Muhammadu Buhari on February 3, 2016.

“These included a network of 43 roads, already named after some of the founding fathers of the state, with street lighting, electricity grid, water distribution network, drainage networks, central sewage system, gas supply lines and fibre optic cable ducts.

“In addition, there was a fully developed master plan with commercial, multi-residential, school districts and other locations properly delineated in the 170-hectare layout,” the statement said.

Questioning the governor’s claim that the project had almost stalled and faced forfeiture through litigation, Amosun asked: “If the contractor had been fully mobilised, the infrastructure was already approximately 95 per cent complete, and sufficient funds remained available for the outstanding work, who then took the government to court and threatened seizure/forfeiture, and for what reason?”

Amosun argued that the incumbent administration must explain when and how the dispute arose, how much money was owed and how the contractor became a threat to the estate.

Amosun also cited the estate’s commissioning in 2016 as evidence that substantial infrastructure had already been completed before he left office.

“In 2016, when Ogun State marked the 40th anniversary of its creation, activities were held at the estate. President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the estate and drove round the tarred roads with all the street lights on.

“He was also hosted to a state banquet at the so-called abandoned estate. A location without roads, electricity, drainage, access, central water and sewage system and substantial infrastructure could hardly have hosted such major events,” he said.

The media office also raised concerns about subscribers to the estate, particularly Nigerians in the diaspora, who it said had certificates of occupancy, development approvals and other relevant documents but could no longer access their land.

“A significant proportion of these purchasers were reportedly Nigerians in the diaspora. What has happened to them? Some lawful allottees now face difficulties accessing, possessing or developing plots they legitimately acquired.

“The government must explain to the public what new services it added to the project that had not been done before. Is it the road network, electricity, drainage, access, sewage system or what precisely?”

It also called for a comprehensive account of the status of the entire 500-hectare estate.

“If the estate has genuinely been ‘rescued,’ the public deserves a comprehensive account of the condition of the entire 500 hectares.

“How much of the land remains intact? How much has been allocated? How much has been developed? How much has been redesignated? How much, if any, has been encroached upon or become the subject of dispute?

“These questions are essential because rescuing a public asset must mean securing and protecting it in its entirety, not merely developing one portion, commissioning a cluster of houses and proclaiming victory while leaving the fate of hundreds of hectares unexplained,” the statement read.