Breaking News
Awujoola yusuf babatunde
Mar 31 2025
164
A former governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has blamed the Ogun West senator, Olamilekan Adeola, for project diversion.
Amosun, in a release on Monday by his media aide, Lanre Akinwale, expressed concern that a library project embarked upon by Adeola in Abeokuta had a board bearing the inscription, 'Renovation of Ake Pavilion Roofing and other Facilities, Ogun State', a project initiated by the former governor.
Accordingly, Amosun explained that this means there is an under-budget under the Federal Appropriation for the Ake Pavilion project that is being diverted into a totally different project.
"We have been called to attention to a library building project at the Ewang Estate Extension, Abeokuta, sponsored by Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola," the statement read.
However, the project board erected at the site of the library project has another inscription, referred to as 'Renovation of Ake Pavilion Roofing and Other Facilities, Ogun State.'
"What this just implies is that funding exists in the Federal Appropriation for the Ake Pavilion project and is being channeled into an entirely different project. Otherwise, how could it be that the facilitator of the library project endorsed a narration totally unrelated to what he facilitated?"
Clarifying the situation, Amosun stated that the said project has no bearing on the building work on the Ake Pavilion project, which was "single-handedly funded" by him.
The statement continued, "For avoidance of doubt, there is one Ake Pavilion Project, and it is sited at the Ake Palace Ground, Abeokuta." It was conceptualized and created as a center of tourism attraction by Senator Ibikunle Amosun during the twilight of his term as governor in 2019. In 2020, the construction of the multi-purpose Ake Pavilion started and was never accommodated under his constituency projects, as he was the Ogun Central Senator (2019-2023).
"The Ake Pavilion project, 95 percent complete, has a grand 3,000-capacity amphitheater with an open performance area of about 3,000 sqm, 3 banquet halls of varying capacities between 100 and 500, a museum area with the four quarters (sections) of Abeokuta's history and artifact shops, bookshops, Adire, administrative blocks, and other amenities, all provided by Senator Ibikunle Amosun from his own resources."
Since Senator Amosun gets the facilitation of Federal Government-funded projects to Ogun State, caution must be exercised to ensure that such projects are done in good faith and without fudging facts. We call on Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola to make appropriate disclosures to the people of Ogun State, especially Abeokuta, regarding the library project he facilitated to Ewang Estate Extension.
But quickly countered the assertion in a statement by the Ogun West senator, who negated the charge of diversion of the project.
Adeola's spokesperson, Kayode Odunaro, alleged, "There is no case of diversion of the project as suggested, premised on what is seen at the completed library project inscription on the signpost."
He made clear, "As revealed through the words of Senator Amosun, the inscription on the project reads, 'Renovation of Ake Pavilion Roofing and Other Facilities, Ogun State." For the uninitiated in budgetary language, the words 'and other facilities, Ogun State' mean that the project was not restricted to Ake Pavilion alone. Indeed, it can encompass road construction, schools, libraries, etc., in Ogun State as determined by the implementing agency and project facilitator in the budget depending on the amount of funds available.
Odunaro admitted that there was a budget for the renovation of Ake Pavilion, and it is yet to be constructed.
He revealed that Adeola was not informed of the individual funding of the project by Amosun.
"There was indeed a budgetary provision for the renovation of Ake Pavilion following appeals to Senator Adeola by well-meaning children and sons of Egbaland to complete the project, which was seemingly shelved for a while. What was not revealed to Senator Adeola during the appeals was that this was Senator Amosun's personal undertaking and his resolve to complete it in good time from his resources."
"Realizing the role of Senator Amosun and the budget approved as denoted in the project name, Senator Adeola underwent a reconsideration from appropriating glory on Senator Amosun's good deed to his people and, in accordance with the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, chose the construction of a library at Ewang Estate Extension to be done with funds available released for the project."
"Finally, nothing is wrong in the inscription at the library because that is what the budget of the ministry employed to work on the project. It would have been otherwise if the signpost had been erected at the Ake Pavilion currently being constructed by Senator Amosun," Odunaro said in a statement.
