Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin
Kwara State Bureau of Lands, yesterday, gave further details surrounding the civil service clinic land and adjourning plots in Ilorin that has attracted public criticism following its revocation by the state government.
Director General of the Bureau, Ibrahim Salman, in a statement said the land was acquired in the 1970s in the ‘overriding public interest’ and was initially designated to host the phase II of the state secretariat.
According to him, the secretariat project was later abandoned after construction had reached superstructure level.
Said Salman: “The entire land was later redesigned in the 1980s for the construction of a civil service clinic, state secretariat, and a parking lot.
“The clinic was subsequently constructed in 1982, while the remaining plots of land were conceived for the expansion of the clinic into a full-fledged hospital. The dream of the government was stalled when part of the land slated for the parking lot was spuriously allocated in principle to one Asa Investment for commercial purpose.
“From available records, the allocation was not based on a formal application, nor application forms filled; there was no evidence of payment for the allocation as stipulated in the letter of allocation in principle.
Consequently, no right of occupancy was ever issued to the company. Iin flagrant abuse of the allocation terms, the company took possession of the land and constructed what is today known as “Ile Arugbo” on part of the land that was designed as parking lot and later conceived to host the expansion of the civil service clinic into a full-fledged Hospital.
“Following a resolution of the Kwara State House of Assembly mandating him to revoke/withdraw the spurious allocation, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq recently signed an instrument to reclaim the land on the ground that same was unlawfully allocated to a private company contrary to the public purpose of its acquisition and occupied in breach of the terms of allocation,” he said.