Ffollowing intense and unabating criticisms over the manner it pulled down an N800 million structure belonging to disabled crooner, Yinka Ayefele, the Oyo State government has explained that the management of Music House, which also had a radio station, Fresh FM, contravened building regulations, and for over a year, neglected to effect corrections.
The government insists it followed due process before sending bulldozers, for what it described, as a partial demolition.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the Sunday demolition exercise as “horrifying, wicked and speaks volume of the insensitivity of the perpetrators”, noting that the musician was targeted because he sang against the All Progressives Congress (APC) -led government.
Hard knocks came from civil society organisations, lawyers, prominent politicians like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Senator Ben Murray-Bruce.
But Monday, the Oyo State Government said no court order restrained it from carrying out its statutory role.
The government restated that the Music house, in the Challenge area of Ibadan, the Too State capital, contravened the planning laws .
It said the organization was duly informed through several correspondences, echoing that the action of the government to demolish the building was not politically motivated, neither an act of vendetta nor against the radio station as it continues transmission despite the partial demolition.
The Special Adviser to Governor Ajimobi on Physical Planning and Development Control, who heads the Physical Planning Unit of the government, Tpl. Waheed Gbadamosi at a press parley held at the Film Theatre, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism said that the government gave ample opportunity for Music House to regularize its building plan but the management of the organization did not deem it fit to obey the laws of the land.
Said Gbadamosi, “On May 19, 2017, letters demanding for planning approval were sent to various institutions including University College Hospital, Kola Daisi University, University of Ibadan and other institutions and organisatons. On June 14, 2017, request for approval was sent to Music House and 22 other radio stations in Oyo State.
“On August 18, 2017 reminder Letter was sent to Music House and the letter was received by Adebisi Akinkunmi. On August 25, 2017 we went a step further to send a letter to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) titled Operation of Radio Stations without Physical Planning permit/Aprroval in Oyo State. Few months later, precisely November 27, 2017, another letter was sent to NBC complaining about Physical Planning Law and Regulations by the Radio station owners, developers and operators.
“We got a response from NBC on December 4, 2017 and NBC said that the issue is outside its mandate. This is to show that the action of the state government is not to witch-hunt anyone as we even reported the radio stations to NBC. We also wrote to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on some banks contravening the Oyo State Physical Planning and Development Control laws, sections 30, 31 and 32 of the Oyo State Physical Planning and Urban Development Law of 2012.
“Music house submitted a building plan on June 14, 2018 which necessitated the joint inspection visit we carried out on June 25, 2018. It was discovered that it was meant to be an office complex and not a radio station among some other infractions including a building size measured 29.7 metres by 21.6 metres on ground as against the 11.925metres by 10.20metres in the survey plan/building plan submitted by Music House,” Tpl. Gbadamosi said.
He said that the building plan from Music House deviated from the approved plan which made the approval null and void because deceitful information was given to the approving authority and also deviation from the approval granted both in construction and use.