Daud Olatunji, Abeokuta
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State has launched a scathing critique against Governor Dapo Abiodun and the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the controversial Prince Court Estate housing project.
The opposition party accuses the administration of fraudulent practices and reneging on agreements with subscribers who have fully paid for homes in the estate.
Located along the Kobape-Siun expressway, the Prince Court Estate was intended to address Ogun State’s growing housing needs.
However, PLATFORM TIMES reports that 200 applicants remain stranded two years after paying N5,500,000 for their houses.
Asiwaju Akinloye Bankole, the PDP’s Publicity Secretary in Ogun State, issued a statement highlighting the party’s outrage over the administration’s actions.
Since 2022, Gateway Mortgage Bank, under the state government, has collected full payments from approximately 200 subscribers, yet none have received their allocated homes.
The PDP’s primary concern is the government’s justification for this delay.
Housing Commissioner Mr. Jamiu Omoniyi had attributed the failure to rising inflation.
However, the PDP dismisses this as a flimsy excuse, accusing the administration of deceptive practices and shifting goalposts.
Critical questions posed by the PDP include why inflation was not factored into the agreements when subscribers completed their payments and why the government failed to inform depositors of potential inflation impacts, including a relevant clause in the contract.
The party also inquires whether the government used the deposits to part-finance the project, which it deems fraudulent.
The PDP contrasts the current administration’s actions with its own record in power, citing its previous housing projects, such as the Laderin Workers Estate, where civil servants received homes at highly subsidised rates with manageable payment plans.
The opposition party accuses the APC government of exacerbating economic hardships in Ogun State and failing to show compassion and responsiveness to the people’s needs.
“In line with the growing need to address the issue of housing problems of the people, which has progressively grown in recent years in Ogun state, it is not out of place for the government to provide decent shelter for the people.
“It is, however, appalling to see the administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun, who has the constitutional responsibility of providing decent shelter to the people using the same challenges to swindle the people who had made full payments for Prince Court Estate, a government housing scheme located at the Kobape-Siun express way of their hard-earned money after about 2 years of payment.
“For the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Ogun state, the most terrifying concern is around the government official explanations given, on behalf of the government by the Commissioner of Housing, Mr. Jamiu Omoniyi, that, it is the galloping inflation in the control that informed government decisions to renege on its terms of agreement with the subscribers. Oh, what an excuse!
“Foremost, it is on record that the state government, through its agency, the Gateway Mortgage Bank, had collected full payment for the housing estate from about 200 subscribers without a single allocation to any of them since 2022.
“For us, this is a clear case of changing the goal post in the middle of a match. It is only a swindler that does that! Is the Dapo Abiodun-led administration not defrauding the good people of Ogun state with its yellow roof again?”
Moreover, the PDP calls for the development of new housing schemes for civil servants displaced from Ibara government quarters, emphasising that the Prince Court Estate should be made available to its legitimate subscribers without further delay.
In a strong call to action, the PDP urges all patriotic citizens and individuals of good conscience to join them in holding Governor Abiodun accountable and preventing any fraudulent actions from further tainting the state’s governance
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