The Ogun State Government has defended the cancellation of the allocation of a 4.646-hectare parcel of land at Fere Village, Jibowu, along the Abeokuta-Sagamu Expressway, saying the decision followed the failure of the original applicant to pay the assessed cost of N334.5 million within the stipulated 60-day period.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, Hon. Kayode Akinmade, disclosed this in a statement issued in response to claims that the government arbitrarily revoked the allocation.
Akinmade said official records showed that Alhaja Adijat Jumoke Busari applied for the land on January 7, 2025, under reference number OW/SL/C.1302.
According to him, following the required site inspection and investigation, the Bureau responsible for land allocation issued Busari a Provisional Letter of Offer on March 25, 2025.
He said the applicant received the assessment letter on April 2, 2025, with a condition that payment for the land be made within 60 days.
“She did not meet that condition,” Akinmade said.
He explained that Busari paid N2.304 million on June 17, 2025, but said the payment covered only ancillary statutory charges, including execution, annual ground rent, government survey, preparation and registration fees.
“It did not constitute payment towards the N334,493,200 assessed cost of the land,” he said.
Akinmade said the principal land charges, including the Premium Fee, Capital Contribution Fee and Special Infrastructural Development Charge, remained unpaid.
He added that the provisional offer was subsequently cancelled in accordance with its terms, with the applicant formally notified of the decision.
Following the cancellation, the parcel became available for consideration by other investors and was subsequently allocated to another company for industrial development after a fresh application, he said.
Akinmade, however, said the government later engaged with Busari following her representations over the cancellation.
He said meetings were held with her and, on March 10, 2026, she was assured that the government would assist her in relocating to an alternative parcel of land on compassionate grounds.
He added that the parties were also expected to discuss modalities for addressing any existing improvement on the original site.
“The Bureau has, however, received no formal notification of any further agreement reached between the parties concerning the relocation or existing improvements,” he said.
Akinmade maintained that the matter was not a case of arbitrary revocation of a fully paid allocation, but one involving a provisional offer whose assessed land cost was not paid within the stipulated period.
He stressed that the subsequent allocation to another investor occurred only after the original offer had been cancelled.
“It was therefore not a case of taking land from a fully compliant allottee and giving it to another investor,” he said.
The governor’s aide also accused the applicant of attempting to misrepresent the facts of the matter in the media by creating the impression that a fully paid allocation had been arbitrarily revoked.
He said the government’s willingness to assist the original applicant in securing alternative land demonstrated its commitment to resolving the matter fairly and compassionately.
“We believe the facts should speak for themselves. The government has nothing to hide and will not allow a straightforward case of failure to pay for a land allocation within the stipulated period to be misrepresented as arbitrary revocation,” Akinmade said.
