By Samuel Omotere
The Ogun State Government has berated Senator Gbenga Daniel over his criticism of Governor Dapo Abiodun following a stop-work order on the ongoing rehabilitation of the 260-metre Paddy Arikawe Oye-Igbimo Road in Sagamu.
The government described the senator’s comments as “reckless and misleading,” accusing him of deliberately distorting facts and inciting the public with false claims.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Special Adviser on Media to the Governor, Kayode Akinmade, the state government said Daniel thrives on stirring controversy instead of respecting due process.
“Only a mind bent on mischief will describe adherence to due process as obstruction.
“The same contractor has since accepted the government’s recommendations, which makes Daniel’s claims even more misleading,” Akinmade stated.
The state government argued that Daniel remains the only federal lawmaker in Ogun State constantly embroiled in disputes over constituency projects.
“It is ironic that Senator Daniel, who spent years undermining state institutions while in power, now pretends to seek collaboration.
“A genuine statesman would comply with established processes rather than attempt to impose shoddy and unsafe engineering works on the people,” Akinmade said.
The state government further recalled what he described as Daniel’s history of disregard for the law, including a previous standoff over property verification in Sagamu.
“Daniel, who is currently under suspension by his party’s state executive, has made it a pastime to attack the government at every turn.
“He complains about roads, yet how many did he construct as governor? Meanwhile, the present administration has built over 1,000 kilometers of roads across the state,” the aide added.
He concluded that while the senator may continue his “media war,” the Abiodun administration would not compromise the rule of law.
“Daniel may continue to play to the gallery, but we will never endanger the public simply to satisfy the whims of a single individual,” Akinmade stressed.
The face-off follows a September 17 letter by the Ogun Ministry of Works directing contractor Minim and Tonye Nigeria Limited to stop work on the road project for failing to obtain the requisite approvals.
Daniel’s camp, however, accused the state government of sabotage.
His media aide, Steve Oliyide, described the stop-work order as “counterproductive and premeditated acts to deny the people of the state from enjoying the fruits of good governance under President Tinubu.”
“This is not the first project the state government has stopped. The Sagamu-Aiyepe road already has a budgetary approval, signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and no sooner than the contractors were mobilised to site than the Ogun State government moved in,” Oliyide said.
He also cited similar clashes over projects in Ijebu Ode, alleging a deliberate attempt by the Abiodun administration to frustrate federal interventions in Ogun East.
“If the state government continues like this, they are just deliberately sabotaging the efforts of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu towards impacting the lives of the people positively.
“It is a sabotage of the Federal Government’s efforts and an attempt to portray the President in a bad light before the people,” Oliyide added.
