Commissioner for Housing in Ogun State, Jagunmolu Jamiu Omoniyi, has debunked an alleged scandal in the housing scheme embarked upon by the government of Prince Dapo Abiodun, saying such allegation is an illusion by fifth columnists.

He added that individuals behind the alleged scandal are criminals in civil regalia who had tried unsuccessfully in the past to manipulate the laudable initiative, especially the ongoing Ogun State GRA Regeneration Schemes, especially that of Ibara Abeokuta.

It would be recalled that an online media platform alleged a scandal in the housing scheme, specifically that of Prince Court Estate, along Kobape Abeokuta.

The Commissioner, in a statement made available to newsmen in Abeokuta on Thursday explained that the issue surrounding the delay in the allocation of the property to various applicants was caused by the present galloping inflation in the country, which subsequently necessitated little variations in the price of the property.

He added that the market value of the property has astronomically gone up as high as N20m as against the N5.5m paid by the applicants, noting that government had immediately activated stakeholders’ meetings to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

The statement reads in part: “In actual fact, those who are behind this fake news are individuals who had tried unsuccessfully in the past to undermine and manipulate the ongoing Ibara Housing Estate Regeneration Scheme for selfish considerations.

“They, therefore, resorted to propaganda and cheap blackmail to paint the government and its laudable projects black in the eyes of the people, not knowing that the good people of Ogun State are too sophisticated to fall for these machinations.

“The truth of the matter is that the delay in the process of allocation to applicants was caused by the sudden need for variations in the cost of the property as a result of galloping inflation as witnessed in the last year, as the cost value of the houses have gone up as against the N5.5m initially paid by the applicants, with such houses commanding up to N20m in open market.

“Consequently, the Government plans to engage all the applicants through various stakeholders’ meetings, as there will be an adjustment in the price of the property.

“To this end, those who are willing and able to meet up with the little adjustment will immediately get their allocations attended to and delivery structured within record time at the conclusion of the stakeholders’ meetings while those who cannot afford the adjustment will be free to request for instantly refund of their deposits plus CBN’s prescribed interest rate.

“We want to reiterate that unlike before, the administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun remains committed to its avowed pledge from inception, which is to be transparent, compassionate and considerate in all its dealings without exception”.

We remain transparent, compassionate in our housing scheme – Ogun Commissioner