A former Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, has told President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, that he is like any other Nigerian before law and so cannot operate above it.
Amosun said this in response to an allegation by Dangote that the former governor demolished his cement factory twice while in office.
In a statement by his media aide, Lanre Akinwale, on Monday, Amosun reacted to Dangote’s claim that his almost $800m Itori cement factory was supposed to have been long completed and commissioned but for the opposition of ex-governor to the project.
Dangote said the factory was demolished twice by the former governor causing the construction a major setback.
It read, “We have just seen footage in which the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, alleged that his cement factory in Itori, Ogun State, was demolished twice while Senator Ibikunle Amosun served as governor.
“We assume that an average person understands how government functions through Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, with each exercising mandates on specific responsibilities, including approvals for physical development.
Akinwale added that there couldn’t have been two governments in the state and “Dangote, therefore, could not operate above the law or under a different set of laws.”
He recalled that Dangote “praised the Amosun administration to high heavens for its promotion of investments in Ogun State and for facilitating the commencement of the cement factory after eight years of frustration as he then alleged by other administrations.
“Dangote is just one of the many concerns in Ogun State, and the Amosun administration is on record to have attracted over 500 companies to the state and was acknowledged by the World Bank as one of the top three states ensuring Ease-of-Doing-Business in Nigeria.”
