SaharaReporters gathered that the late Saraki allotted the
land to himself when he served as a federal lawmaker in the 1980s and used it
to construct a home for old people, who regularly visited his abode for
assistance.
A clinic was however, built but was never fully completed
because the land was fraudulently assigned to one Asa Investment for commercial
purposes.
The Kwara State Bureau of Lands has revealed that no money
was paid for the acquisition, no paperwork filed and no certificate of
occupancy issued to the company.
To reclaim the land for the construction of the hospital,
the demolition of Ile Arugbo was taken by the Committee on Review of Property
of Kwara State Government.
Documents seen by SaharaReporters shows that the demolition,
which has been politicised by son of the late politician, Bukola Saraki –
Nigeria’s immediate-past Senate President – raises questions on how the land
was acquired.
Recall that on January 2, 2020, the Kwara State Government
demolished Ile Arugbo, sparking reactions from far and near.
Governor Abdulrazak Abdulrahman had said that the land was
originally meant for government secretariat and parking space for civil service
clinic but was unlawfully allocated to a private firm, Asa Investments Limited,
without any record of payment to the state government.
The governor signed a constitutional instrument withdrawing
the allocation of plots of land 1, 3 and 5 to the firm, asserting that the said
land was unlawfully appropriated contrary to the purpose for which it was
meant.
Reacting two days later, Minister of State for
Transportation, Gbemisola Saraki, accused Governor Abdulrazaq of carrying out a
revenge mission against her family by demolishing the property built by her
late father for old people.
She added that the demolition was unwarranted and
“disrespectful” to her being a top member of the All Progressives Congress
ruling Kwara State and Nigeria’s central government.
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