Bennett Oghifo

The Ogun State government yesterday said it demolished a property, DATKEM Plaza in Ijebu Ode, owned by

Mrs Olufunke Daniel, the wife of a former governor, Gbenga Daniel for violating the state’s town planning and building control laws and regulations, ruling out any political undertone.

The Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Engineer Abimbola Olayiwola Abiodun said this at a press conference in Abeokuta on Monday, adding that the property was an illegal structure without an approved plan.

The Permanent Secretary said the demolished DATKEM Plaza was one of several properties that were demolished for contravening the state’s planning regulations. 

He said the state government made several efforts to stop further development on site but were ignored by the developers. 

He said, “There is no political undertone in the whole process.  As of May last year, a Stop Work Order was served on the developer. On October 4th, 2022 when another Stop Work Order was served there were no political activities. By October 11th, seven days later a demolition order was served. 

“The demolition order ought to have been carried out within 21 days but we didn’t pull the structure down. We carried out the demolition after the developer ignored and frustrated all government efforts to salvage the situation. 

“The plaza didn’t only contravene the state’s physical planning laws, the structure violated the building codes of the state with numerous defects.”

He explained that DATKEM Enterprises Limited applied to construct an office complex located along Ibadan Road, Ijebu Ode, in 2009 with registration number CB/05/299/2009.

“The proposal was for five (5) floors with an airspace of three metres at the right, five metres at the left, and five metres at the rear, and a setback of 32.5516 metres to the middle of Ijebu Ode/Ibadan Road, Ijebu-Ode.

“The Zonal Town Planning Office observed during routine monitoring that the construction on site did not conform to the plan granted as there was a deviation from the airspace and setbacks”

Abiodun added that the building had been modified and enlarged with an additional-storey building at the back, thereby becoming over-density.

“In view of the above, the following actions were taken:

“Contravention Notice with Serial No. 0106983 was served on May 24, 2022. The Stop Work Order with Serial No. 000623 was served on May 24, 2022.

“Another Stop Work Order with Serial No. 001065 was served on July 22, 2022, when the first notice was ignored.

“Demolition Notice with Serial No. 0007549 was served on October 11, 2022, and Notice to Seal with Serial No. 000815 was served on October 4, 2022.”

He said the developer ignored the government’s numerous notices, and continued with the construction work, saying, “This prompted the re-sealing of the site on August 1, 2023. However, the sealing did not stop the developer from further construction as work continued on the site.”

The Permanent Secretary presented documents for journalists to view, which he said, gave details of the government’s correspondence with the developer.