Former Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State has fired back at his successor, Governor Dapo Abiodun, who scolded the former governor over allegation of frustrating Aliko Dangote from siting the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Plant in Ogun State, and settling the investment in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos State.
Both political leaders, members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), were present when President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Dangote refinery which has output capacity 650,000 barrels daily, on Monday.
Amosun, in a statement by his Media aide, Bola Adeyemi, declared that “Dangote took business decisions,” in siting the refinery in Lagos after initial consideration for the Olokola Free Trade Zone. Senator Amosun noted that the Olokola Free Trade Zone project was not solely owned by the Ogun State Government.
Amosun had declared: “From its conception in 2007, it was a Joint Venture. The Federal Government of Nigeria owned the majority 51%, Ondo State Government (14.5%), Ogun State Government (14.5%), and strategic core investors (20%). Alhaji Aliko Dangote, according to the information availed us when we took office, subsequently bought, and took over the 20% equity of the core investors.
“Ogun State was a minority equity stakeholder only, without proprietary strength and capacity to take sole decisions on the Joint Venture enterprise.
“As mere holder of 14.5% equity interest, it is most uncharitable for anyone to churn out lies that Ogun State was in a position to unilaterally frustrate the project or was responsible for the logjam.
“With respect to all sides, it accords more with logic to appreciate the fact that Alhaji Aliko Dangote took business decisions of his own in accordance with the goals of his business strategy and risk assessment.
“No amount of concocted lies, blackmail and orchestrated falsehood will blight these unparalleled facts.
“It is, therefore, interesting to read that the present Ogun State governor holds me responsible for allegedly scuttling the Olokola project.”
Governor Abiodun had in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, decried that “it is painful that the huge investment that should have accrued to Ogun State was lost, especially, when the mega project had been initially planned to be located at the Olokola Free Trade Zone, in the Ogun Waterside Local Government Area of the state.”
The governor had declared: “In truth, everyone knows that Segun Sowunmi is referring to the immediate past governor, Ibikunle Amosun, as the man who frustrated the efforts to locate the refinery in Ogun State.
“We are all aware that the penultimate administration made appreciable and concerted efforts to ensure that the Olokola deep sea port and other ancillary projects in the OKFTZ, become a reality, by rallying major players in the
oil and gas sector, including Dangote Group.
“The present governor, Dapo Abiodun, served as the Chairman of the Committee on the Olokola Free Trade Zone projects during the first term of the immediate past governor.”