The Kwara State government has demolished a property which former governor and Senate President Bukola Saraki said belongs to his family.
The building was demolished on Thursday morning after security operatives dispersed protesters, including aged women within the complex known as ‘Ile Arúgbó’. The properties are located at Plots 1, 3 and 5 Ilofa Road, GRA, Ilorin.
Kwara State governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in December 2019 announced the revocation of the property owned by former governor of the state, Olusola Saraki, because it was illegally acquired.
Abdulrasaq said the land was meant for a secretariat and parking lot of the civil service clinic but was unlawfully allocated to a private firm — Asa Investments Limited, owned by Olusola Saraki without any record of payment to the state government.
But Saraki said the property was “rightfully allocated to my late father under the name of one of his companies, Asa Investment Limited, since the 1980s and contrary to the claim of the Governor, the land was properly allocated and a Right of Occupancy title issued on it.”
Prior to the property revocation, Abdulrasaq had been critical of previous government administrations in the state, including that of Saraki, his father Olusola and other proteges of the ‘Saraki political class’.
Saraki on the other hand on separate occasions had accused Abdulrasaq of using his office as governor to witch-hunt opposition.
“In his narrow-mindedness, he believes his victory at the polls is an empowerment, entitlement and enablement to settle scores, provoke and pursue inter-family rivalry,” Saraki said in a statement reacting to the revocation of the property by the governor.
The former Senate president accused AbdulRazaq’s government of prioritising his fight against his Saraki’s legacies over governance.
He advised Abdulrazaq to devote his time and energy to providing good governance and genuine development to residents of the state.
Saraki said the governor’s decision to undermine and wage a war of attrition against his father by revoking the ownership of the land was beyond his comprehension.
