A former Kwara State governor and immediate past President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has dismissed the report of a committee set up by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to investigate sales of Kwara State’s assets, which recommended the prosecution of Saraki and former governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, as well as other former government officials.
The committee’s white paper accused the ex-governors and other government officials of economic sabotage against the state through sales of public assets to cronies at give-away prices.
But Saraki has dismissed the panel’s recommendations, saying neither him nor his successor was invited by the panel to give evidence.
Saraki, in a statement from his Media Office, which was signed by Press Officer on Local Matters, Mr. Abdulqadir Abdulganiyu said neither him, who left the office 10 years ago nor Ahmed, the immediate past governor got an invite to appear before any investigative and fact-finding panel set up by the Abdulrazaq’s administration.
“Thus, it is clear that the so-called investigation being conducted is not about finding facts. It is about throwing mud and staining the predecessor of Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq in office,” he said.
Saraki insisted that him and Ahmed would never be shy of giving account of how they managed the assets of Kwara State.
The statement noted that both men took decisions concerning those assets in a manner that would enhance their value and stimulate economic activities in the state, which was hitherto referred to as a civil service state.
Referring to the issue of Kwara Mall, the statement argued that based on the decision taken by the Saraki administration, the project has become the epicentre of economic activity in Ilorin, the state capital.
“In fact, it’s importance is further underscored by the decision of the government to give the owners of businesses inside the mall a grant totaling about N1 billion to cushion the harsh effect of the ‘End SARS’ protest on their property. It is obvious that the mall today provides direct and indirect employment to hundreds of Kwarans and Dr. Saraki is proud that his administration initiated the idea where Ilorin became the first town outside Lagos to host a Shoprite in its mall.”
On the issue of the Shonga Farms, the statement added that the farms demonstrated the cluelessness of the current governor of Kwara State and his advisers.
“That is why on some occasions, key officials of the administration will hold the Shonga Farms as a glory of Kwara State and on some other occasions, like the case of the press statement under reference, it will seek to paint it in bad light.
“We are surprised that other companies that this government facilitated their investment into Kwara State like Dangote Flour Mills were not being cited as examples of how the previous administrations ‘misapplied’ the resources of the state.”
According to the statement, “this same Shonga Farms is not only a model how we need commercial farming to revolutionise agriculture in Nigeria but it is the second commercialism farm in the country. The farm today has an investment worth over $100 million and has in its service over 1, 000 Kwarans in the state. It is a project that went through the scrutiny of President Olusegun Obasanjo and the CBN.”
