Kwara To Build New Secretariat On Saraki’s Land

The Kwara State Government said on Friday it had taken over a piece of land being used by the Saraki Family in Ilorin, the state capital and would use it for the state new secretariat.

The government said the land was originally meant for the government secretariat and parking space of the Civil Service Clinic but was unlawfully allocated to a private firm, Asa Investments Limited, without any record of payment to the state government.

A statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, Rafiu Ajakaiye, said the government had made provisions for the secretariat in the 2020 budget.The part of the land, located beside the Civil Service Clinic, is also right in front of the late Dr. Olusola Saraki’s residence.

The late Saraki built a house and named it “Ile Arugbo(elderly people’s home).”According to the statement, no certificate of occupancy was issued in favour of the firm.

The statement read: “Hundreds of civil servants still operate from rented apartments at a huge cost to the government.

“The new secretariat, once completed in 2021, will definitely go a long way to end this unhealthy trend as well as provide a more conducive and decent working environment for government workers.”

According to the statement, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has signed a constitutional instrument withdrawing the allocation of plots of land 1, 3 and 5 to the firm.

The government said the land was unlawfully appropriated contrary to the purpose for which it was meant.“The governor’s decision followed a resolution of the State House of Assembly urging him to reclaim the land because it was arbitrarily taken over in the 1990s without any evidence of payment by the company, even though the land was meant for public use,” the statement added.

Credit: NAN