Residents of Sagamu have expressed outrage after the Ogun State Government abruptly ordered the suspension of a federal road reconstruction project approved under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
The Paddy-Arikawe–Oye Igbimo Road, awarded by the Presidency to Minim and Tonye Nigeria Limited and facilitated by Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel through the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA), was halted last week by the Ogun State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure.
In a letter signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Engr. Dr. Yusuf L.O., and obtained by this reporter, the contractor was directed to suspend operations immediately on the grounds that “necessary permit/clearance was not obtained from the State Government before commencement.”
The letter also stated that the Presidency’s action “negates the normal due process which ought to be followed before commencing work on a State Government road.”
But the explanation has done little to calm residents. “There are thousands of roads in the state begging for repairs, yet this government is stopping the federal government from helping us out. This is the height of insensitivity. The governor has no empathy for the people,” one angry resident told our correspondent.
Another resident described the decision as “a slap on President Tinubu’s effort to deliver dividends of democracy” to Ogun communities. “This is not Daniel’s private project but a federal intervention backed by President Tinubu. Instead of encouraging it, the governor is blocking it,” the resident lamented.
A source close to the project also expressed shock at the speed with which the works were halted: “The BCDA mobilised and started work on Wednesday. By Thursday, they had already been ordered to stop. This is unprecedented and discouraging.”
Analysts say the move could deepen lingering tensions between President Tinubu and Governor Abiodun. During the 2023 APC presidential primaries, Abiodun openly backed former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo against Tinubu — a rift that, according to party insiders, has never fully healed.
Although no official link has been drawn between that political rivalry and the halted project, residents insist on the timing and manner of the stoppage “reek of political undertones.”
The controversy hits a raw nerve in Sagamu, where residents say successive state governments have abandoned major roads for decades. Since Otunba Gbenga Daniel left office in 2011, key arteries such as the busy Paddy-Arikawe stretch have reportedly seen no meaningful maintenance.
“This is not the first time. Even Aiyepe Road suffered the same fate. Anytime Senator Daniel facilitates a project, Governor Abiodun finds a way to frustrate it,” a community leader alleged.
While the state government insists it is only enforcing due process, residents argue that urgent development should trump bureaucratic hurdles.
“President Tinubu is trying to fix what others neglected for years,” another resident fumed. “We will remember this in 2027.”
