The Ogun State government has firmly rejected claims by former governor and senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel that he is being politically persecuted over planned demolition notices served on some of his properties in Sagamu. The government insists that the actions are part of a routine urban renewal and planning audit affecting multiple property owners and not targeted at Daniel.
Kayode Akinmade, Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, said the notices on Daniel’s Asoludero Court residence, Conference Hotel Limited, and its annexe are standard procedures carried out regularly in Sagamu and Ijebu-Ode Government Reserved Areas. He urged Daniel to comply with the process by submitting the necessary planning permits and land titles for verification within the stipulated time, instead of politicizing the matter.
“Senator Gbenga Daniel is a distinguished leader, but no one is above the law. Nobody is bigger than Ogun State,” Akinmade emphasized. He reminded Daniel that such audits were conducted during his tenure as governor and urged him not to view every government action as a personal attack on Governor Dapo Abiodun.
In response, Daniel accused the current administration of political vendetta, highlighting that the demolition notices apply a 2022 planning law retroactively to buildings constructed between 2004 and 2015. He also cited the midnight demolition of DATKEM Plaza, owned by his wife in Ijebu Ode in 2023, as part of a pattern of intimidation by the state government. That case is still before the courts, with the state losing several legal challenges.
Daniel called on citizens, human rights organizations, and legal bodies to oppose what he described as an abuse of power and vowed to fight the government’s actions through all available legal channels.
