The former governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has responded to allegation made by billionaire, Aliko Dangote over demolition of cement plant in Ogun State during his tenure.
Dangote had alleged that his cement plant in Itori, Ewekoro local government area of Ogun State was demolished twice by the Amosun administration, including the factory’s fencing during the second demolition.
But reacting to the allegation, Senator Amosun, who spoke through his Media Aide, Lanre Akinwale said that Dangote did not possess requisite approvals for constructing the structures he alleged were demolished.
The former governor said: “We want to appeal to Alhaji Dangote to avail the public of the requisite approvals for the construction of the structures he alleged were demolished.
“This will, at least, help the public to put the issue in proper context and for us to know what exactly his grouse is.
“For us, as a government, we believed that there could not be two governments in a state, and Dangote, therefore, could not operate above the law or under a different set of laws.
“It is important to note that at the commissioning of his Ibese Cement factory, Dangote praised the Amosun administration to high heavens for its promotion of investments in Ogun State and for facilitating the commencement of the cement factory after eight years of frustration as he then alleged by other administrations.
“Dangote is just one of the many ongoing concerns in Ogun State, and the Amosun administration is on record to have attracted over 500 companies to the state and was acknowledged by the World Bank as one of the top three states ensuring Ease-of-Doing-Business in Nigeria.
“While we will not give vent to this obvious mischief as it is deliberate, we will advise Alhaji Dangote to furnish the public with details of the land acquisition with relevant planning approvals, and let us engage in a constructive conversation therefrom.”
“However, while we will wait to hear from him, we would like to state that not all Nigerians can be compromised, bullied or blackmailed. The notion that everyone has a price is an expression applicable only to people with weak foundations and questionable upbringing. This is why some of us will continue to uphold high standards in all our undertakings, irrespective of whose ox is gored.”