The Kwara State House of Assembly has revealed reasons landed properties allegedly owned by Former Senate President Olubukola Saraki was seized.
According to the Assembly, the Alimi Chalet and a large expanse of land popularly called “ile Arugbo” were legitimate properties of the Kwara state government and there is no direct link establishing the former Senate President owned the properties.
The lack of link connecting Saraki to the properties translates that there is no proof to show the land belongs to him, which means the properties were illegally acquired.
This was contained in a statement released by Ibrahim Sheriff, the Special Assistant to the Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly. The statement said the allocation of the properties by the previous administration contravened the laws of the land that is, Kwara State Former Governor’s Pension Law 2010
Kwara State House of Assembly released a statement titled, “Our position on the seizure of Alimi Chalet, Saraki’s House” saying there was proof the property was acquired through illegal means.
The statement reads, “The Ile Arugbo had been erected on land originally meant for the expansion of the Civil Service Clinic and Phase II of the State Government Secretariat without any evidence that anyone paid a dime to the government for the land.
“The noise surrounding the affected property is politically motivated, as other public property unlawfully acquired are also being looked into.
“We dare say that allowing impunity to stand, no matter who is affected and how long it has taken place, is a disservice to the state and its people.
“Apart from the fact that the purported sale of the Alimi Chalet did not conform to the Kwara State former Governors’ Pension Law 2010, as amended, which incidentally was the brainchild of Saraki, we contend that there is no record anywhere that Saraki paid a dime to have the property transferred to him. The transfer only fits into what the late Fela Anikulapo called ‘paddy-paddy’ arrangement.”
“The pension law takes adequate care of the former governor (Saraki). The law allows ex-governors to own a five-bedroomed duplex, as opposed to the Alimi Chalet, which consists of three separate chalets with three boys’ quarters of three rooms each and, therefore, does not fit into the recommendation of the pension law of 2010.
“Aside from the three houses on over one hectare of land on Alimi Road supposedly given to Saraki under the state pension law, Saraki also got N250m under the same law to build another retirement home for himself.
“The said Alimi Chalet, which was gifted to him, is the property of the people of Kwara State and was never contemplated as a gift to former governors,” the Assembly said.