Chairman of the Committee on the Review of Kwara State Government Properties from 1999 to 2019, Senator Suleiman Ajadi, has said that controversy over reclamation of disputed land bordering the civil service clinic was needless.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Sunday, Senator Ajadi, said that the Kwara State Government has only recovered a property that originally belonged to it but was unlawfully diverted for private use.
Ajadi’s committee, which recently probed sales of some Kwara State properties said 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.
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“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.
“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. In view of the above reasons, therefore, the committee was compelled to recommend that the land be repossessed and put to the original use it was meant for.”
Flanked by some members of the committee, Ajadi also described as false the claims that the government demolished a belonging to the late politician Senator Olusola Saraki, wondering how a place bordering a hospital could be used for political meetings where noise and commotion were rife.
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