By Moshood Adebayo, Abeokuta
Seventeen months after assuming office, Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has not moved into the Government House, Oke Igbein, Abeokuta, the state capital from where his predecessors ran the affairs of the state.
ThisNigeria investigations revealed that the governor since his inauguration on May 29, 2019 as the fourth governor under the current democratic dispensation had not stepped into the house.
It was furthered gathered that the governor rather than stay in the multi-million-naira government house complex, he had preferred to shuttle to and fro Iperu, his home town, about forty-five kilometres to Abeokuta, the state capital.
The development, many political observers and residents in the state observed had been affecting the smooth running of his administration.
It was also observed that the ambience of excitement which the house usually provides is no longer there with the environment looking like a jungle, particularly at nights when there is power outage.
A senior civil servant, who spoke with ThisNigeria on condition of anonymity though lamented the turn of things at government, house, he added that there was nothing bad in the governor not moving into his official quarters.
“Governor Abiodun will not be the first not to move into the government house early enough. I remember very well that it took a while for two of his predecessors, Otunba Gbenga Daniel and Senator Ibikunle Amosun before they moved in”.
However, he added that Abiodun will go down in the history of the state as the governor who refused to move into his official quarters after a year in office.
“The governor may have reasons for not moving into the Oke Igbein Government House, but his action is definitely affecting the smooth running of the state”, another source said.
The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Kunle Somorin, who commented on the development added that Abiodun had not abandoned his responsibility in the running of the state as being speculated just because he has not moved into the Government House.
He added: “For now he’s operating from the Presidential Lodge, while the government house is undergoing renovation. At the appropriate time, he will move in”.
