A RECENT notice by Governor Dapo Abiodun-led Ogun State Government, warning of planned demolition of three properties belonging to the state former governor, Gbenga Daniel, is, again, fanning the embers of feud between the two leaders.
The state government had in a letter reportedly dated August 8, 2025, through the State Planning and Development Authority, issued demolition notices on the former governor’s properties, indicating that the properties might not have regulatory approvals.
The affected properties include a private residence of the former governor, popularly called Asoludero Court, located along Obafemi Awolowo Road, Sagamu; the Conference Hotel Limited; and Conference Hotel Anex, all in the Sagamu Local Government area of the state.
The move has not gone down well with the former governor, who has described it as a political vindictiveness.
The ICIR reports that Daniel ruled the state for eight years, from May 29 2003 to May 29, 2011, and he is currently representing the Ogun East Senatorial District in the National Assembly.
Abiodun, the incumbent governor, who took over on May 29, 2019, is currently serving out his second tenure in office.
Daniel accuses Abiodun of vindictiveness
In a statement on Saturday, August 9, by his media aide, Steve Oliyide, the former governor queried the Abiodun-led administration’s planned demolition of his properties.
He described the action as the highest level of political persecution, calling public and security agencies’ attention to the issue.
According to the former governor, about 4pm on Friday, August 8, some agents from the state government posted notices of contravention, quit and threats of demolition on his Asoludero residence, Conference Hotels, and Hotel Annex.
“We strongly condemn this latest act of political persecution by Governor Dapo Abiodun, as evidenced by the recent issuance of these notices which were dated August 8, 2025, as a clear demonstration of the governor’s malicious and vindictive abuse of power, hiding behind a newly enacted law retroactively to target a political opponent.
“The documents, concerning these properties cite ‘suspected’ offences related to construction without adequate permits (which is laughable),” Daniel said.
The former governor said the properties in question had been in existence for many years, hinting that the Asoludero Court was built in 2004, Conference Hotels in 2013, and Hotel Annex since 2015.
“The governor’s administration is now attempting to use the Ogun State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law No. 61 of 2022 to demolish buildings that were legally constructed long before the law was even in existence.
“This action is not only politically motivated but also a blatant disregard for due process and the rule of law. The notices in themselves are clear breaches of procedures which allow adequate time intervals between notifications on contraventions, Quits and the penalties, if indeed there were any, are not a demolition or a threat of it,” Daniel claimed.
He insisted that the Abiodun administration had completely bypassed this procedure by issuing a ‘Notice of Contravention’ and ‘Notice to Quit’ simultaneously, with an immediate threat of demolition.
“This is not a legal process; it is a thuggish tactic designed to intimidate and inflict damage.
“It is worth noting that this is not an isolated incident. This latest act of persecution follows a similar pattern of illegal demolitions carried out by Governor Abiodun’s administration,” Daniel maintained.
He recalled how his wife’s, Yeye Olufunke, property, DATKEM Plaza Ijebu Ode, was demolished in the midnight of September 2023 by thugs believed to have worked on the orders of Abiodun, raising concerns over the relationship between the two political bigwigs.
Daniel noted that the matter was still in court, asserting that the Abiodun-led administration had already lost several applications at the Ogun State High Court and another at the Court of Appeal in Ibadan.
He believed that Abiodun was taking political vindictiveness without any regard for extant laws or common decency.
“We call on all well-meaning citizens, human rights organisations, and legal bodies to stand with us in condemning this egregious abuse of power.
“We will not be silent in the face of this injustice and will use all legal means at our disposal to ensure that Governor Abiodun is held accountable for his lawless actions,” Daniel vowed.
Abiodun gov’t debunks Daniel’s vindictive claim
In a statement on Saturday by the state government and an X post by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the governor, Kayode Akinmade, the Abiodun-led administration countered the former governor’s claims.
The government said Daniel’s reaction was tailored to cause disaffection and foment chaos in the state, stressing that the notices were a routine procedure.
According to the government, contrary to Daniel’s claim of political vindictiveness, the state government is not in any way fighting him.
“The fact of the matter, quite simply, is that in his holistic approach to development efforts across the length and breadth of Ogun State, His Excellency, Governor Dapo Abiodun, has embarked not only on building new communities as exemplified by the affordable housing estates and the yellow roof revolution but also on the redevelopment of Ogun State’s towns and cities through urban renewal.
“This, he started with Ibara GRA in Abeokuta, the state capital, and is being extended to Sagamu and Ijebu-Ode GRAs. This initiative involves the auditing of existing developments within these areas to determine the permit status of all types of developments, including houses, schools, hospitals and other commercial buildings,” it said.
It insisted the government was following a statutory and due process, which it argued had formed its audit exercise currently being carried out simultaneously, both in Ijebu-Ode and Sagamu GRAs.
“Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s building happens to be within the Sagamu GRA and among those that were served notices as required under the Town Planning Law and Regulation of Ogun State. Many other structures were also similarly served.
“The exercise is a continuous one until the objective of the government for the exercise is achieved. This process is not new. It had been in existence and operated even during his tenure as Governor of the State. The GRA is a government-designed and allocated estate, and it is subject to regulatory and oversight functions of government in perpetuity.
“All Otunba Gbenga Daniel needs to do, like every other person in a similar situation that has been served with such notices in that neighbourhood, is to present his planning permit and land title to the relevant government agency office for verification within the time specified in the notices rather than resorting to cheap blackmail. There are no exemptions under the law except as permitted by that law,” the government stated.
The government said the former governor could not be bigger than the state.
“Nobody is bigger than the State. Senator Gbenga Daniel is distinguished no doubt, but he is not bigger than Ogun State.
“He should submit himself unreservedly to the same laws he once swore twice to uphold. He should refrain from elevating every issue of his contact with government institutions to a personal vendetta by the governor,” it added.
PDP accuses Abiodun of eying Ogun East senatorial seat
Meanwhile, the Ogun state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Governor Abiodun of embarking on a vendetta in his move to demolish the former governor’s properties.
The PDP believes that the growing feud stemmed from Daniel’s readiness to seek re-election for the Ogun East senatorial seat in the 2027 election, for which Abiodun is now nursing an ambition.
The governor, who lost the seat to the late Buruji Kashamu in 2015, was also interested in the seat after the expiration of his second term in 2027, PDP stressed.
But Abiodun had urged the PDP to focus on its internal crisis and stop meddling in state affairs, noting that government policies were guided by law and public interest, not partisan politics.