Senior Special Assistant (Media) to the Ogun State Government, Adejuwon Soyinka has debunked claims that Governor Ibikunle Oyelaja Amosun was behind plans to demolish the Ilaro house of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola representing Lagos West Senatorial District in the Senate.
The house was on Tuesday marked for demolition by the Ogun State Ministry of Urban and Regional Planning for violating urban planning laws.
A statement issued by Soyinka said the attention of the state government had been drawn to some unfounded allegations making the rounds that Amosun ordered the demolition of the Ilaro, country home of Adeola, otherwise known as Yayi.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it must be clearly stated that Governor Amosun has no hands in whatever may be going on with the said property.
“Contrary to insinuations making the rounds, the property in question was first served contravention notice by the Ogun State Ministry of Urban and Regional Planning, on January 6, 2014.
“At that time, the owners of the building, which was then at window level, were duly alerted to the fact that the structure was being put up illegally and without approved plan.
“The contravention notice also advised the owners of the property to come up with all documents in support of their case, “including development permit to the undersigned within 24 hours of this notice on you.”
“When that particular notice was ignored, it was followed with another notice dated, January 28, 2014, which was also ignored while the owners of the contravening property continued to develop in flagrant disregard for the laws of the land,” he explained.
According to him, “it was under this circumstance that the state Urban and Regional Planning Board Development Control Department issued yet another contravention notice to the owners of the said property, this time, on December 6, 2016. The said notice gave the owners/occupiers of the property, which is now fully built and in use, in flagrant disregard for all previous notices, 3 days to come up with its approved building plan.
“Contrary to claims of the sponsors of the misinformation flying around in the social media, the latest notice, just like the previous ones, which were clearly ignored, was not for demolition. It simply, for the umpteenth time, requested that the owner of the contravening property comes up with its approved building plan within 3 days.
“As it is the standard operational procedure, it is only after this notice is ignored that a demolition notice will then be issued on the owners of the contravening property. It bears repetition that this whole process is totally within the routine, legal operational procedures of the state Ministry of Urban and Regional Planning and has nothing to do with the person of Governor Amosun as erroneously claimed in some quarters.”