Former Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has described the claim by the administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun that it rescued the President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) Estate in Abeokuta as “a political narrative deliberately constructed upon a false premise.”.

Amosun stated this in a statement personally signed by him and titled “The Rescue of PMB Estate by Gov. Dapo Abiodun: The Limit of Falsehood,” where he accused the Abiodun administration of distorting the history of the estate.

The former Governor also alleged Abiodun of attempting to create an impression of achievement by diminishing the extent of work completed before his administration left office in May 2019.

According to the former governor, the estate, formerly known as the Three Hills Estate, was conceived, acquired, master-planned, substantially developed and inaugurated before Abiodun assumed office.

He said the project was situated on approximately 500 hectares of duly acquired land along the Abeokuta-Sagamu Expressway, with about 170 hectares constituting the master-planned first phase and approximately 50 hectares developed as the pilot scheme.

Amosun said the estate was conceived as a Three-Arms residential zone for members of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial arms of government, with provisions for high-end residential and commercial developments.

He said virtually all the infrastructure being highlighted by the Abiodun administration had already been completed under his administration and commissioned by former President Muhammadu Buhari during Ogun State’s 40th anniversary celebrations on February 3, 2016.

According to him, the infrastructure included a network of 43 roads, street lighting, electricity, water distribution, drainage networks, a central sewage system, gas supply lines and fibre-optic cable ducts, as well as a comprehensive master plan covering commercial, multi-residential, school and other districts.

Amosun further claimed that infrastructure within the pilot area had reached approximately 95 per cent completion when his administration handed over in May 2019.

He said the infrastructure contract was valued at approximately N3.5 billion, adding that the contractor, ZCC, had been fully mobilised and sufficient funds were available for the outstanding works.

The former governor consequently questioned the circumstances surrounding the Abiodun administration’s claim that the estate had faced the threat of takeover, forfeiture or legal action over alleged unpaid obligations to the contractor.

“If the contractor had been fully mobilised, the infrastructure was already approximately 95 per cent complete, and sufficient funds remained available for the outstanding work, who then took the government to court and threatened seizure/forfeiture, and for what reason?” Amosun asked.

He also cited the 2016 commissioning of the estate by former President Buhari, arguing that the event provided tangible evidence that the estate was far from the abandoned project it had allegedly been portrayed to be.

Amosun said Buhari toured the estate’s tarred roads with the street lights illuminated and was hosted to a state banquet there, arguing that such activities could not have taken place in an estate without functional roads and substantial infrastructure.

The former governor also raised questions over the fate of people who had acquired plots in the estate before the change of administration, noting that some allottees had obtained Certificates of Occupancy, secured development approvals and commenced construction.

He challenged the Abiodun administration to explain what had become of the existing allottees and whether their rights remained protected.

Amosun also questioned the development of the 108 housing units and the relocation of the Access Bank Training School within the estate, alleging that the changes had departed from the original master plan.

He said that the 108-unit housing project occupied less than one hectare of the approximately 50 hectares already provided with infrastructure under his administration and was located on land originally designated for a primary school.

He further alleged that the Access Bank Training School, which he said had been conceived during his administration and for which land had already been allocated and paid for, was relocated to an area originally designated for the Executive Arm of Government, including commissioners’ quarters.

According to Amosun, the changes had undermined the original Three-Arms Zone concept and raised questions about the integrity of the estate’s master plan.

He therefore challenged the Ogun State Government to provide a comprehensive account of the entire 500-hectare estate, including how much land remains intact, how much has been allocated or developed, what portions have been redesignated and whether any part has been affected by encroachment or disputes.

“Rescuing a public asset must mean securing and protecting it in its entirety, not merely developing one portion, commissioning a cluster of houses and proclaiming victory while leaving the fate of hundreds of hectares unexplained,” he said.

Amosun stressed that governance was a continuum, arguing that completing, improving or modifying an inherited project should be regarded as a normal responsibility of government rather than an opportunity to rewrite history.

He maintained that the PMB Estate had been conceived, acquired, master-planned, funded, substantially developed and inaugurated before Abiodun assumed office.

Until the questions raised are answered, Amosun said, the claim that Governor Abiodun “rescued” the PMB Estate would remain “less a faithful account of history than a political narrative deliberately constructed upon a false premise.”

“Ogun State deserves better than governance by historical revisionism,” the former governor said.

HE insisted that the people of the state were entitled to the truth and that the public record should not be manipulated for the convenience of any administration.