Some prominent personalities from
Saki, the hometown of Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu,
have accused him of planning to demolition a N20m Fire Serve Station.
Those who spoke at a press
conference held in Ibadan, the State capital, said it was sad that the Station
aimed to serve the needs of people of Saki, Iseyin, Tede, Igboho, Okeho and
other towns within Oke-Ogun zone during emergencies has been marked for
demolition.
They include Chairman, Caretaker
Committee, Saki West Local Government, Alhaji Kareem Adegoke and his
counterpart from Wewe Local Council Development Area.
Others include, National
President of Saki Parapo, Alhaji Sule Lawal and the Akeweje of Saki, Chief
Raimi Akande.
Also at the press conference were
retired police officers, leaders of though and community leaders from Saki.
Adegoke, while speaking said the
same land which the Minister intends to build a Computer Based Test (CBT)
Centre had been allocated to Fire Service for the construction of a station,
noting that the land belongs to Saki West Local Government and not the
Minister.
He said the Minister should stop
fighting a war of blame because it will be suicidal for him to allow his
personal interest to override the interest of the public, the people of Saki,
his hometown and other towns and villages in the Oke-Ogun area.
Adegoke said “Oke Dio, Ajumose
Estate, those are the government landed property in Saki West LG. In year 2000
when private schools begin to spread, certain individuals came to the LG to
request for land and by then the LG have a place headed by Chairman.
“NTA, Al-Sunna, Redeem requested
for land some years back, Bayo Shittu requested for land; all these private
individuals brought a reminder letter. The Committee sat, invited them and
allocation were made.
“Alhaji Adebayo Shittu was given
a piece of land and he was asked to pay N80,000 and he was to pay N3,240 per
annum. He has since paid that N80,000 but between then 2000 to 2018, 18 years,
the Minister had not paid one kobo.
“Now after all these lands were
allocated, there was a small piece left, Bayo Shittu wanted to annex it with
his school, the council management went against it because that land has been
allotted to DSS. But DSS said that land was small.
“The Fire Service approached
Parapo. Let me remind you that in year 2005, Oyo State House of Assembly
legislated that we should have a befitting ultra modern fire station. The
approval was given by the then Commissioner for Water, which means fire service
had already gotten an approval to construct fire station.
“All that land in Oke-Dio belongs
to the government. Two plots were allocated to Parapo for onward transmission
to Fire Service. Now fire service took the letter given to it by the Ministry
of Land to the Ministry of Works to do the Survey. They surveyed that land and
got titled document. Parapo has no document.
“In this dispensation, Alhaji
Bayo Shittu was nominated a Minister and became a minister. He came home and
Parapo approached him; they requested for communal assistance. He asked if they
could get a piece of land to build an ICT Centre but they gave him the same
land that was to be given to Fire Service.
“Bayo has no titled document, no
C of O, no letter of consent from the fire service. Fire Service came to Ibadan
and reported that the land given to them has been given to Bayo Shittu to build
ICT centre; that is how the trouble started.
“I, as the Chairman of the Local
Government, invited eminent persons, noble persons, we deliberated on this
issue. It was agreed that the fire service is more important. It is not
meaningful to site a fire station outside the town, fire station should be centrally
located. That was the argument.
“We said we should look for
another piece of land and give to Bayo Shittu and allow fire station to
construct their station. That was the agreement. Two days after, Bayo went to
court asking them to set aside the construction. The fire service is not joined
in the suit, they are constructing their station.
“That land, Bayo Shittu has no
development on it, no survey, no deed, nothing. So the fire service just went
there to construct. He swore an oath of allegiance as a public servant but is
he now using his personal interest to override public interest?
Chief Akande, an ex-Permanent
Secretary in the state, said: “We are not here to destroy anybody, we are not
here to blackmail anybody. Bayo Shittu is my brother, I contributed to his
education.
“As a retired permanent
secretary, you know my take home monthly; I am not contesting for any post or
looking for commissioner at my age. But we assure you that our coming here is
not to blackmail anybody.
“We are not here to disown him.
Yes he was given an award by Parapo to recognise him but he was not the only
one. The fire service station is not for Saki alone, it is for Oke-Ogun area.
“Our stand is that we are looking
for amicable settlement. You know, when two elephants are fighting, it is the
grasses that suffer. We want ICT and the Fire Service Station, that is why we
have to cry to you people.
“Two, we expect our son to say
that I give this land to you and I will look for another one.
“Three, we have told the Chairman
to allocate another land for him which he has done.”
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