- Admits there was ‘letter of allocation in principle’
- Issa Aremu seeks quick resolution
By Hammed Shittu
The Chairman of the Committee on the Review of Kwara State Government Properties from 1999 to 2019, Senator Suleiman Ajadi, has said that, the revocation and demolition of the campaign house of late Dr. Olusola Saraki was a recovering of what belonged to the state.
Ajadi, a former beneficiary of the political structure of late Dr. Saraki, stated this in Ilorin on Sunday at a news briefing on the allegations and counter allegations that trailed the revocation and demolition of the land belonging to Saraki by the government of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq.
According to him, “the state government has recovered a property that originally belonged to it but was unlawfully diverted for private use”.
He said that, “many of the alleged insinuations on the land were either erroneous or mischievous as there are no proofs anywhere that the land ever belongs to Asa Investment Limited.
“The issue of the land in question came under the terms of reference of this committee which considered several other properties of government and submitted its recommendations in July 2019″.
Ajadi whose committee worked on the property and other properties in the state added, “As was the case with all the properties looked into by the committee, the committee’s recommendations were based on strictly available records from the archives of government.
“And based on the available records, the Committee did not see proof of any payments nor an approved Right of Occupancy even though there was a letter of allocation in principle.
“In reaching its conclusions, the Committee noted foundation work with erected columns at varying areas of the larger segment of the land. The Committee also noted that the land in question was also a part of a larger parcel of land, part of which has been developed into the Civil Service Clinic and Secretariat complex now housing the State Ministry of Finance, among others”.
He pointed out further that, “Finally, based on the existing convention that land acquired by Government in overriding public interest cannot be converted to private use, unless under extraneous circumstances which requires the express approval of the Governor of the State, the Committee did not see a case made for this land and neither was there any approval from the Governor of the state to convert it to private use”.
He therefore said that, “In view of the above reasons, the committee was compelled to recommend that the land be repossessed and put to the original use it was meant for.”
Meanwhile, former governorship candidate of Labour Party (LP) in Kwara state during the 2019 general elections, Comrade Issa Aremu, at the weekend sued for peace, harmony and justice on the ranging crisis between Saraki dynasty and Governor Abdulrasaq over the demolition of Saraki’s property.
Aremu who spoke with THISDAY in Ilorin on the issue said that, there was urgent need to resolve the issue in order to move Ilorin and the state forward.
He however said, “All parties should exercise caution for peace, harmony and justice in the state.
“My appeal is the quick resolution of the matter and dousing of unnecessary tension.
“I agreed with President Buhari that this is the Decade of Nigeria for development. Kwara inclusive”.
