Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has challenged the Kwara State government for taking over a piece of land occupied by the Sarakis in Ilorin, the state capital.
Saraki alleged that the state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, is waging war against him and his father. In a statement he personally signed, Saraki, who governed the state from 2003 to 2011,
said the land was duly allocated to his family and a Right of Occupancy title issued on it.
He said, “It should be noted that the excuse given by Abdulrazaq in his revocation order holds no water since it is clear that this is the height of his vengeance against my father, Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki and I.”
“This action is clearly a manifestation of vengeance. In his narrow-mindedness, he believes his victory at the polls is an empowerment, entitlement and enablement to settle scores, provoke and pursue inter-family rivalry.”
Saraki said the seven months of Abdulrazaq’s administration has been all about attacking his father’s legacies in Kwara state. He said, “Seven months down the line, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has shown that its cardinal programme is to wage war against my late father and I.
He has demonstrated that his only competence and astuteness is in the area of viciously assailing the late Oloye Saraki and I. Definitely, he is a man with no sense of history. Enough is enough. Now, he has crossed the line. Perhaps, I should let it be known that if Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq thinks he is taking all these actions to get at me, he is only deceiving himself.
There is no basis for competition between us. Our paths cannot cross because the status that he is struggling to attain, Almighty Allah has given it to me many years before now.”
The former senate president, however, said that he would not contest the revocation of his properties by the state government, adding that the governor would not win the war he had declared on the legacies of his late father, Dr. Olusola Saraki.
“With all his subterranean and open moves against my family, person and property, I remain unmoved.“ However, his open antagonism against my late father and his legacies is unwarranted and will not be tolerated. He has definitely gone beyond bounds as he cannot be allowed to ride roughshod on the deceased. In this war against my late father, he will not win,” he said.
Meanwhile, in its defense, explaining reasons for revoking the land, Rafiu Ajakaiye, chief press secretary to the state governor in a statement, said the land was originally meant for government secretariat.
He added that the land was unlawfully allocated to one of Saraki’s late father’s private firms without any record of payment to the state.
