Daniel, Abiodun clash over Ogun’s loss of $20bn Dangote Refinery

Former Ogun State governor and Senator representing Ogun East, Gbenga Daniel has accused Governor Dapo Abiodun of playing a key role in the relocation of the multibillion-naira Dangote Refinery project from Ogun State to Lagos. Daniel made the allegation on Tuesday during the Bola Ahmed Tinubu/Otunba Gbenga Daniel Midterm Assessment and Empowerment Tour held in […]

Former Ogun State governor and Senator representing Ogun East, Gbenga Daniel has accused Governor Dapo Abiodun of playing a key role in the relocation of the multibillion-naira Dangote Refinery project from Ogun State to Lagos.

Daniel made the allegation on Tuesday during the Bola Ahmed Tinubu/Otunba Gbenga Daniel Midterm Assessment and Empowerment Tour held in Ijebu Ode, where he questioned the governor’s contributions to Ijebu land since assuming office in 2019.

According to the senator, the Dangote Refinery project had already been concluded during his administration before it was eventually moved to Lagos after he left office.

“By the time we were leaving office in 2011, we had finished the work on the Dangote Refinery, which was supposed to be in Ijebu land; however, after we left office, the refinery was lost to Lagos,” Daniel said.

He added, “I had thought that my successor, Sen Ibikunle Amosun, was the brain behind everything, but after we both reconciled, Sen Amosun told me to ask my brother, that is our governor, how the refinery was lost under his nose, because he was the one who represented Gov Amosun during the negotiation.”

“We now begin to ask the governor why he allowed the Ijebus to lose this lifetime opportunity,” he stated.

Daniel also accused the governor of failing to support federal projects he facilitated to Ogun East, including a naval base in Abigi and a Federal Medical Centre in Ijebu Ode.

“When I got to the Senate, I was made the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Navy, and we went to work. We said that there is a need to facilitate a naval base in the state. The project is currently ongoing at Abigi, but not without opposition from the governor; we went through hell to get the project started,” he said.

“In Ijebu Ode, we don’t have a standard hospital, and I have been able to facilitate the establishment of a Federal Medical Centre in Ijebu Ode, but the project should have witnessed more progress than it has if there had been support from the governor,” Daniel added.

The former governor further alleged that Abiodun had failed to support the agitation for the creation of Ijebu State and had neglected major infrastructure in the area, including the Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic and the Ijebu Ode International Stadium.

Daniel argued that despite increased federal allocations to Ogun State following fuel subsidy removal by President Bola Tinubu, there was little development to show in Ijebu land.

“For our eight years, we only had access to N330bn, but the state for this year alone has a budget of N1.6tn. If we are to do little calculations, it means that the N330 billion we received in eight years is what the state now receives every four months, but is there anything to show for it in Ijebu land? Your guess is as good as mine,” he said.

Reacting in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, the government described the claim as false and contrary to publicly available facts.

Akinmade referenced remarks credited to the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, during a visit to Abeokuta, where he reportedly praised the administration’s investor-friendly policies and enabling business environment.

The government added that the ongoing expansion of Dangote cement plants in Itori and Ibeshe reflects renewed investor confidence in Ogun State under the Abiodun administration.

The statement further accused Daniel of engaging in anti-party activities during the 2023 governorship election and subsequent political contests in the state.

“The leadership and stakeholders of the APC in Ogun East became uncomfortable with Daniel’s repeated anti-party activities, including openly supporting opposition elements during the 2023 governorship election and other elections in the state,” Akinmade stated.

The statement also faulted Daniel’s comparison of federal allocations received during his tenure as governor with those accruing to the current administration, accusing him of deliberately ignoring prevailing economic realities and the sharp depreciation of the naira.

“It is interesting that Daniel, who left office in 2011 when the exchange rate hovered between N150 and N170 to a dollar, is now claiming he would have executed more projects with current allocations at a time the dollar exchanges for over N1,370. In his desperation to attack the governor, he ignored basic economic realities,” the statement added.