They made this clarification during a press conference held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Monday.
The Permanent Secretary, Physical & Urban Development, Abimbola Abiodun, said the state had laws and regulatory enactments that guided development permits within the state.
“On the demolition of the Dutkam plaza matter owned by the wife of the former governor, Gbenga Daniel, we have carried out our due diligence and we as a ministry, we deal with records, not personalities.
“Hence, we have on record that statutory enforcement has been effected as and when due, some of these enforcements took place some years back.
“However, in recent times, when we looked at the haphazard ways of development within the state, we launched an enforcement arrangement, whereby we structured ourselves to go to different zones, and started with Ijebu-Ode.
“On August 1, 2023, we touched 10 sites, of which this was part of them, after a few days we realised some of the sites we had earlier gone to seal, the seals were broken and people continued working.
“We launched enforcement, and two important personalities were apprehended, we never knew because we deal with records, not personalities.
“Thereafter, they paid the penalty fees for breaking the law and unsealing, but over time we discovered that they continued working despite sealing. “
According to him, going by the laws of the state, several contravention notices, stop work notices, and seal notices were served since last year, and later in October 2022, a demolition notice was served, but were not complied with.
He added,” We served several contravention notices despite the fact that the demolition notice was served last year, they continued working, so we had to reseal again. When it was August 31, I had to personally go there when I was told that they refused to comply with the order.
“I requested everyone to come out, resealed, and locked it with a padlock. It was when the issue of demolition came that we started hearing the names of the owners of the demolished structures. It was never an issue of political witch-hunt, but purely professional and service matters.
“The very application on Dutkam Plaza was brought for assessment and permit in 2009, and from our records, the process commenced but was inconclusive.
“Ordinarily, whenever we approve any application, there is always a very big stamp on the front page and several signatures, but going through the file, I could see the beginning of the process but not the end, they signed in, but it was not signed as collected, hence there is no prove that I have that it was approved.
“Also, when a permit is granted through approval, it is expected that that person must have gone through Land Use clearance. This property in question is within a commercial and residential area, and it is beside a major road, and the Town Planning Law states that certain conditions must be met before building either commercial, industrial, or residential, such as air spaces and its governance, the distance you give to the road, and parking spaces, among others, this property in question did not comply with these laws.
“In addition, the law says whoever is doing a project that is commercial or industrial, must come with a traffic impact assessment test. Where we have issues is that every contravention notice served was not complied with and we had to enforce the necessary laws.”
Abiodun noted that since October last year when they were served a demolition order, they would have come with proposals but they did not.
“My job was on the line, if that place was completed and put to use, heads would go low, and before my own head, my officers would bear the brunt, because it would raise questions on why we allowed the project to go that far. However, thank God we have confirmations of notices served which they never obeyed. When the demolition order was served in October 2022, it was at the phase of the second floor. As of July 2023, the plaza was already undergoing finishing, and at that stage what needed to be done had to be done, to ensure we were not found wanting.”
The Director of urban development, Rufus Talabi, cited some of the laws of the state that were contravened, adding that they were built contrary to regulations.
He said, “They contravened Section 6(1) (6) of the Ogun state Planning and Development Permit Regulation, which talks about the necessary documents to support a commercial development, which was not complied with. Also, Section 9(1) (3) which talks about the statutory setback that must be maintained from the road, from that project, it should have been 30 metres, but we observed that it was less than 10 metres, which is grossly inadequate.
“Equally, Section 11(1)(b), talks about the maximum building coverage for commercial buildings, which must not exceed 60 per cent coverage, and the issue of building certification for each stage up to the last floor were not complied with, among others.”
Meanwhile, Olufunke had earlier expressed shock following the demolition of her plaza, at Ijebu-ode, Ogun State, accusing the present governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, of illegality, adding that she would continue to seek redress from court.
In a statement issued through her counsel, Adeyinka Kotoye, she noted that the demolition of the building by the state government was illegal despite a notice from the court to halt the process.
