Why Saraki’s chalet was revoked — Kwara Assembly – TheNigerialawyer

Kwara State House of Assembly yesterday said it has directed the
revocation of a chalet gifted to a former governor of the state,
Sen. Bukola Saraki, because the property belonged to the state
government.

The house, in a statement by spokesman to the speaker, Ibrahim
Sherif, said the allocation of the property to Saraki by the
Abdulfattah Ahmed administration was in violation of the Kwara
State Former Governor’s Pension Law 2010.

The statement was a response to a report in one of the national
dailies in which the government was accused of witch-hunting the
Sarakis, especially the former Senate president.

The report had also claimed that the house’s resolution
directing the government to reclaim the land on which the late
Olusola Saraki erected his political headquarters, known as Ile
Arugbo, was contrary to the promise of Governor Abdulrahman
Abdulrazaq of not witch-hunting anyone.

But the House of Assembly said the Ile Arugbo had been erected
on a land originally meant for the expansion of the Civil Service
Clinic and Phase II of the State Government’s Secretariat.

The statement reads in part: “We dare say that allowing impunity
to stand, no matter who is affected and how long ago it had taken
place, is a disservice to the state and its people. It would be a
signal to those coming that impunity pays and would be allowed to
stand.

“The two developments upon which the article is based reek of
impunity of the concerned party which the newspaper is apparently
trying to protect for reasons not connected to the interest of
Kwara and its people.

“Apart from the fact that the purported sale of Alimi Chalet did
not conform to the Kwara State Former Governors’ Pension Law 2010,
as amended, which incidentally was the brainchild of Senator Bukola
Saraki, we contend that there is no record anywhere that Senator
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. Unfortunately, despite expositions made
in the findings of the House Committee on Land, Housing and Urban
Development about the illegal acquisition of the Alimi Chalet, the
publication only relied on comments by Senator Saraki’s
sympathizers to form opinion of acclaimed due process in
acquisition of the property.

“We challenge the affected party to prove the contrary to not
just the people of Kwara but to the entire world they are trying to
instigate by presenting evidence of payment for the property. The
pension law took adequate care of the former governor.”