Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun has blamed his predecessor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, for the loss of N19billion Dangote Refinery by Ogun State to Lagos State.
He said any true born Ogun State indigene would be pained by the huge investment loss, especially when the state had been marked as the most suitable natural location for the mega project at Olokola Free Trade Zone, in Ogun Waterside Local Government.
He added that the Amosun administration bungled the chance because of one man’s interest.
Governor Abiodun, reacting to a report credited to a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart, Segun Sowunmi, heaping blames on successive administrations, said the government in power between 2011 and 2019, for reasons best known to it, killed the project and frustrated the promoter of Dangote Refinery out of the state.
Abiodun, in a statement by Kunle Somorin, his Chief Press Secretary, said: “The present governor, Prince Abiodun, served as the chairman of the committee on the Olokola Free Trade Zone (OKFTZ) projects during the first term of ex-Governor Amosun.
“Governor Abiodun, as the chairman of the committee and a big player in the oil and gas industry, did everything to make sure the project saw the light of the day.
“The then governor, perhaps, having an axe to grind with the promoter of the refinery project, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, frustrated the efforts of Prince Abiodun and his committee.
“The former Chairman, Board of Directors of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Mrs. Ronke Sokefun, who was then a commissioner, served as the secretary of the committee, which engaged Dangote on the mega project.