Ogun demolishes ex-Gov Gbenga Daniel wife’s shopping plaza

The Ogun State government on Sunday morning demolished a building owned by Olufunke Daniel, wife of the state’s former governor, Gbenga Daniel.

The building, known as the Datkem Plaza, is located in the Ijebu Ode area of the state.

In a statement by her counsel, Adeyinka Kotoye, the former Ogun State first lady expressed shock the government carried out the demolition despite a court stopping the exercise.

The statement read: “We were shocked and miffed that the Ogun State government ignored court papers served on its agents on Thursday, September 7, asking them to stop all actions on the building.

“This matter began when the Ogun State Planning and Development Authority sealed the building on August 1, without any prior notice. Interestingly, a quit notice was only served on August 31 by the same Planning and Development Authority asking the owner to vacate the premises within three days.

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“Meanwhile, Datkem applied for the unsealing and regularization of the building on August 2, and paid the mandatory fee of N500,000 to the Ogun State government. We have evidence of this payment. However, we were shocked and astonished that the Ogun State government ignored the ongoing legal process and went ahead to demolish the complex in the early hours of Sunday. We want to believe the State Attorney General’s advice was ignored on this matter.”

However, the state government in a statement issued by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Urban Development, Olayiwola Abiodun, said the structure contravened the state’s physical planning laws.

The government said the owner of the plaza rebuffed efforts to stop work on the project.

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