Dapo Abiodun, Amosun Clash as First Lady Remi Tinubu Commissions Buhari Estate Today

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and his predecessor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, have clashed over the history and ownership narrative surrounding the President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) Estate in Abeokuta, with the dispute coming ahead of its commissioning by First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, today.

While the Abiodun administration said it “rescued” the estate from possible forfeiture, settled a dispute with the contractor and transformed a stalled project into a modern 108-unit residential community, Amosun dismissed the claim as “a political narrative deliberately constructed upon a false premise.”

The estate, located along the Abeokuta-Sagamu Expressway, was originally known as the Three Hills Estate and was conceived during the Amosun administration as a Three-Arms residential zone for the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.

A statement by Abiodun’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, on Friday, said the project was inherited in a largely undeveloped state, with only the infrastructure awarded and one show building completed.

It said the project had become embroiled in a legal dispute over unpaid obligations to the contractor, putting the property at risk of legal action.

Abiodun’s administration said it intervened, settled the dispute out of court and commenced payments to secure the state’s interest in the property before adopting a Public-Private Partnership model to complete the development.

Rather than abandon the project, the government said it provided the land and infrastructure while private developers undertook the construction and sale of the housing units.

The intervention, according to the state government, has produced 108 four-bedroom fully detached and semi-detached duplexes, complete with roads, street lighting, landscaped areas, water supply, waste management facilities, a sporting centre, children’s playground, clubhouse, 24-hour power supply, parking and security.

Abiodun said the project was evidence of his administration’s determination to complete inherited projects and protect public investments.

“This project is part of our administration’s commitment to providing quality and affordable housing for different categories of residents, while ensuring that government projects inherited from previous administrations were completed rather than abandoned,” the governor said.

He added that the PMB Estate would become “a model for similar public-private housing developments across Ogun State.”

The government further disclosed that Access Bank is developing a training school and other facilities within the estate, describing the development as evidence that the project is attracting private-sector investment.

But Amosun a statement personally signed by him and titled, “The Rescue of PMB Estate by Gov. Dapo Abiodun: The Limit of Falsehood,” accused the Abiodun administration of distorting the history of the estate and diminishing the work carried out before the change of government in May 2019.

Amosun said the estate was “conceived, acquired, master-planned, substantially developed and inaugurated” before Abiodun assumed office.

According to him, the project occupied approximately 500 hectares of duly acquired land along the Abeokuta-Sagamu Expressway, with about 170 hectares constituting the master-planned first phase and roughly 50 hectares developed as the pilot scheme.

He said the estate was designed as a Three-Arms residential zone, with provisions for high-end residential and commercial developments.

Amosun also disputed the suggestion that the estate was largely undeveloped when he left office.

He said virtually all the infrastructure being highlighted by the present administration had already been completed under his tenure and commissioned by former President Muhammadu Buhari on February 3, 2016, during Ogun State’s 40th anniversary celebrations.

According to him, the infrastructure included “a network of 43 roads, street lighting, electricity, water distribution, drainage networks, a central sewage system, gas supply lines and fibre-optic cable ducts,” as well as a comprehensive master plan covering commercial, multi-residential, school and other districts.

Amosun further claimed that infrastructure within the pilot area had reached about 95 per cent completion by the time he handed over power in May 2019.

He put the infrastructure contract at approximately N3.5 billion and said the contractor, ZCC, had been fully mobilised, with sufficient funds available for the remaining work.

“If the contractor had been fully mobilised, the infrastructure was already approximately 95 per cent complete, and sufficient funds remained available for the outstanding work, who then took the government to court and threatened seizure/forfeiture, and for what reason?” Amosun asked.

He also invoked the 2016 commissioning by Buhari as evidence that the estate could not reasonably be described as an abandoned or substantially undeveloped project.

Amosun recalled that Buhari toured the estate on tarred roads with the street lights illuminated and was hosted to a state banquet there.

He argued that the activities surrounding the commissioning demonstrated the extent of development already achieved under his administration.

Beyond the question of infrastructure, Amosun raised concerns over the fate of people who had acquired plots in the estate before the change of administration.

He said some allottees had obtained Certificates of Occupancy, secured development approvals and commenced construction, and challenged the Abiodun administration to explain what had become of their interests.

The former governor also questioned the location and development of the 108 housing units being commissioned.

According to him, the 108-unit housing project occupies less than one hectare of the approximately 50 hectares already provided with infrastructure during his administration.

Amosun similarly questioned the relocation of the Access Bank Training School, alleging that the facility had been conceived during his administration, with land allocated and paid for.

He claimed the training school was subsequently relocated to an area originally designated for the Executive Arm of Government, including commissioners’ quarters.

The former governor argued that the changes raised questions about whether the original master plan and the Three-Arms Zone concept had been preserved.

He therefore challenged the Ogun State Government to publish a comprehensive account of the entire 500-hectare estate.

“Rescuing a public asset must mean securing and protecting it in its entirety, not merely developing one portion, commissioning a cluster of houses and proclaiming victory while leaving the fate of hundreds of hectares unexplained,” Amosun said.

He maintained that governance was a continuum and that completing, improving or modifying an inherited project should be regarded as part of the normal responsibility of government rather than an opportunity to rewrite history.

“The PMB Estate had been conceived, acquired, master-planned, funded, substantially developed and inaugurated before Abiodun assumed office,” he insisted.

Meanwhile, the First Lady is billed to inaugurate the controversial project on Tuesday.

“The commissioning will formally mark the completion of a project that once faced abandonment and possible forfeiture but which the Abiodun administration recovered, restructured and delivered as a modern housing community,” the government said.

Senator Remi Tinubu will be in the state for the
South-West Zonal Launch of the National Community Food Bank Programme, which she chairs.