Dapo Abiodun demolishes N1bn plaza of Gbenga Daniel’s wife

Governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, has demolished DATKEM Plaza in Ijebu Ode owned by a former First Lady of the state, Yeye Olufunke Daniel, wife of former Governor Gbenga Daniel.

Daniel, the Senator representing Ogun East senatorial district, belongs to the same party as Abiodun.

Construction of the plaza started in 2009 and was scheduled for inauguration at the end of September 2023 until it was demolished.

The building reportedly cost about N1 billion.

According to the Project Manager and Developer, Adeolumi Environmental Services Ltd, Engr. Olusegun Lawal, who handled the project, in his preliminary report, the reasons given by Governor Abiodun’s administration for demolishing the plaza included “not enough parking space”.

But Lawal noted that the “front of the building is Folagbade Street, sided by two (2) undeveloped streets which are being prepared by the developers to be tarred to support parking while the empty piece of land at the back is being negotiated for lease to complement car parking.”

Others are: “Inadequate Muster Point: Muster point is any space outside the building where people can gather in case of fire or emergency. There is ample space around the building that can be used as Muster Point.

“Inadequate Airspace. This is a new one. But there is enough airspace as there is no single adjoining building around the 4 sides of the building.

“There is also no concrete fence but only metal grills to ensure proper airflow. It must be noted that there are other buildings in the vicinity that do not even come close in terms of compliance on safety matters.

“All this information is known by the relevant personnel of the Government in ongoing discussions.”

He noted that the notice of demolition given by the government was three days.

He said, “Demolition started at 3 a.m. Sunday, 10 September, 2023 and it is ongoing as we prepare this preliminary report.

“The 5-story DATKEM Plaza owned by Her Excellence Yeye Olufunke Daniel is an Iconic, solid structure with full approval whose construction started in 2009 and is scheduled for commissioning at the end of this month of September.

“Ground floor and mezzanine is a banking hall fully fitted with bank trap doors and CHUBB Strong Room; Kone Elevator installed by Kresta Laurel Ltd; About 80 Brand new Split Air conditioners just completely installed by Holomicool Nig Ltd; 150kVA Generator set and transformer in place with Fire Fighting System installed by Flory Ltd and External cladding being completed by Vertex Nig Ltd.”

The report noted that the “building was supervised by Engr. A Lawal, Engr. Ibraheem Shonde and others, all qualified and certified engineers”.

“There are no structural or quality issues,” the report said.

The report said approximately 100 Nigerians were working on the site of the project.

“There are no single structural defects on the building and all relevant and necessary government approvals have been obtained. The third floor of the building is to house the Ogun East Senatorial Office,” the report added.