“RCCG vs Amosun”: Ogun governor demolished church in retaliation over express road “repairs,” journalist blasts
After the Ogun State government demolished a structure belonging to a popular church, a journalist who has been following the story suggested the government was punishing the church for making it look bad before Nigerians.
Last Tuesday, trucks belonging to the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) were spotted at the Arepo and Warewa ends of the Lagos-Ibadan express road.
Workers believed to be in the employ of RCCG were reportedly seen “filling up bad portions of the road.” The church said it was “moved by the cries of users of the road and deployed a team to assess the situation,” Samson Folarin of the Punch reported.
The move apparently made the Ibikunle Amosun led government look bad before people who thought it should have done better.
Although the expressway is a federal road, Amosun took some sticks for the terrible condition of its Arepo and Warewa ends because they are located within his state.
The move, and the resulting publication written by Folarin, did not go down well with Amosun or so it seemed.
“The ongoing palliative work on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway is being handled by the Ogun State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure,” the state government said in a swift response denying RCCG the credit some say it deserved.
That was last Thursday.
Twenty-four hours later, the government demolished an RCCG structure because it was erected in a residential area, and without approval, a state spokesperson said.
But Folarin seemed to think the government might have demolished the structure in retaliation for what RCCG did on Lagos Ibadan expressway, the resultant media coverage and public outrage.
He posted his thoughts on the issue on Facebook.
“In less than 24 hours after a story that RCCG undertook the repairs of bad portions on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Ogun State Government issued a statement denying the claim and went as far as putting up different banners and signposts on the road just to wipe out any trace of what the church did,” Folarin said on Monday.
“On Friday, last week, a branch of RCCG which had been built to ceiling level was pulled down by Ogun State.
“The imposing structure, which was started in 2013, was demolished as workers of the church shed tears. Ogun State said the building ‘defeated’ the structural plan for the community.
“But seriously, I see the action as a retaliation, and I think it is not fair.
“Governor Ibikunle Amosun has lost me as a fan. If indeed the building was not properly sited, why wait till now? This is nothing but ti adiye ba da mi logun nu, ma fo leyin (tit for tat).”
What do you think?
