The Labour Party and the Ogun State Government have engaged in a war of words over allegations that the state government is selling off government-owned housing estates, a claim the government has dismissed as baseless and misleading.
The National Vice Chairman (South-West) of the Labour Party, Comrade Abayomi Arabambi, accused the administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun of disposing public housing assets, including the Ibara Housing Estate in Abeokuta, buildings belonging to the Ogun State Housing Corporation and other properties under the corporation’s control.
In a statement issued on Monday, Arabambi described the alleged sale of the Ibara Housing Estate as “a direct attack on Ogun State’s collective heritage.” He said the estates, originally meant for civil servants and ordinary residents, were being transferred to private interests through what he called “opaque and anti-people arrangements.”
The Labour Party argued that the Ogun State Housing Corporation, which was established nearly 50 years ago to address housing deficits, was being weakened through asset stripping.
Arabambi also condemned the lack of transparency surrounding the alleged transactions, insisting that there was no meaningful consultation with residents, labour unions, the House of Assembly, or traditional institutions before the decisions were taken.
He called on elder statesmen, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof. Wole Soyinka, former governor Chief Olusegun Osoba, and traditional rulers such as the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, to intervene and prevail on the governor to halt the alleged sales.
The party demanded the immediate suspension of all housing asset disposals, full disclosure of beneficiaries and processes in line with Freedom of Information Act requests allegedly submitted over two months ago, and an independent audit of the Ogun State Housing Corporation.
Arabambi said the party’s lawyer, Prof. Yemi Oke (SAN), had been briefed to initiate legal action should the government ignore the demands.
Reacting, the Ogun State Government dismissed the allegations as “hogwash,” describing them as the product of ignorance.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, Mr Kayode Akinmade, said Arabambi lacked a basic understanding of governance and urban development. He said the government’s urban renewal initiative had modernised Government Reserved Areas across the state and attracted commendation from notable Nigerians, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof. Wole Soyinka, former governor Olusegun Osoba and the Alake of Egbaland.
Akinmade said urban renewal involves upgrading cities and giving them a facelift, adding that the emergence of modern housing developments along major corridors was a global practice.
“The problem with Arabambi is his gross ignorance of governance. Perhaps he has never worked in government,” Akinmade said.
He insisted that beneficiaries of the urban renewal programme were Ogun indigenes who understood its value and purpose, stressing that the initiative was aimed at modernising cities, not selling off public heritage.
The government also said that the programme was not about selling public assets, but about renewing and upgrading urban areas for improved living standards.
