ADEBUTU, OGUN GOVERNMENT CLASH OVER N72M LAND USE CHARGE NOTICE
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By Aishat . O.
The 2023 Ogun State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Oladipupo Adebutu, and Governor Dapo Abiodun on Monday traded words over a N72 million land use and amenities charge notice served on Adebutu’s properties in Ode Remo, Remo North Local Government Area.
Adebutu, through a statement issued by the Director of Media and Publicity, Ladi Adebutu Development Organisation, Afolabi Orekoya, described the seven-day ultimatum to pay N72,867,000 as “intimidation, harassment of opposition members, and contempt of court.”
According to him, the matter has been before the High Court of Justice in Sagamu since 2018 and is currently the subject of two pending suits: HCS/275/2018 Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu vs. Land Use and Amenities Charge Committee, Ogun State Ministry of Finance and HCS/409/2024 Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu vs. Land Use and Amenities Charge Committee, Ogun State Ministry of Finance.
“It is laughable and contemptuous of the judiciary for the government to attempt to enforce charges already being contested in competent courts of law,” Adebutu said. He further alleged that the notice was posted “without due process” and accused the government of weaponising state agencies against political opponents.
But Governor Abiodun, through his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, dismissed the allegations, insisting that the land use charge is statutory and applies to all property owners.
“They are only crying wolf where there is none. Land use charge is statutory across the country and is not peculiar to Ogun State or Adebutu. It has no political undertones,” Akinmade said.
He stressed that the charges were part of revenue-generation measures for governance, adding that notices of default are posted on all properties that fail to remit the required fees.
The clash adds a new layer to the rivalry between Adebutu and Abiodun, both indigenes of Iperu Remo, as political tensions continue to simmer in Ogun State.
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