Former Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki has said Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq crossed the line of decency for taking over his family property, as part of his recent efforts to erase the legacy of his late father, Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki. In a statement he personally signed and made available to reporters, Saraki accused Abdulrazaq of using his office to allegedly erase the legacies of his late father, Abubakar Olusola Saraki, who was a former governor of the state stated that the war of attrition waged against the legacy of his father and everything that belongs to the late politician simply portrayed the governor as a man who lacks the sense of history and set out only to fight the Saraki family but not to serve the interest of Kwarans.
Saraki who was governor of Kwara for eight years, said, “Since the outcome of the elections in March, despite the fact that there are clear grounds to challenge the results in court, I have decided to demonstrate maturity, statesmanship and sportsmanship. I have chosen not to make comment on the policies, programmes and actions of the administration in Kwara State or that of its head. Also, I deliberately stayed away from the State to avoid creating any distraction for the administration. My decision is borne out of a genuine restraint to enable the administration settle down and fulfill its numerous promises to the people of our state.
“However, 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”.
Kwara State Government last Friday, announced it has revoked the ownership of plots of land owned by Olusola Saraki. The properties are located at Plots 1, 3 and 5 Ilofa Road, GRA, Ilorin popularly known as Ile Arugbo. The governor’s spokesman Rafiu Ajakaye said the land was originally meant for Government Secretariat and parking space for the Civil Service Clinic, but was unlawfully allocated to a private firm, Asa Investments Limited, without any record of payment to the state government. Ajakaiye said a new secretariat would be built on the land.
Saraki, however, said the government’s action was clearly a manifestation of vengeance which shows that the Abdulrazaq is not out to serve any public purpose or pursue any development agenda. The former senate president insisted that the property had been rightfully allocated to his late father under the name of one of his companies, Asa Investment Ltd, since the 1980s and contrary to the claim of the Governor, the land was properly allocated and a Right of Occupancy title issued on it. Saraki disclosed that prior to the government taking over the properties; the governor had invited all the members of the State House of Assembly and directed them to commence the process of amending the law to change the name of the State University which the last administration renamed after his late dad, Abubakar Olusola Saraki.
The former Senate president accused Abdulrazaq’s government of prioritising his fight against his Saraki’s legacies over governance. “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. Those who voted for the party in power in Kwara State and Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq obviously did not vote for the man to enable him wage war against Dr. Olusola Saraki and his legacies. They expected development and fulfillment of promises,” Saraki said.
Saraki said the governor’s decision to undermine and wage a war of attrition against his father by revoking the ownership of the land is beyond his comprehension. He said AbdulRazaq’s claims “holds no water since it is clear that this is the height of his vengeance against my father, Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki and I.” Saraki said if the governor believes people were not taking stock of his misguided and deceptive actions and that because he is in power, he could do whatever he likes, he must be a joke,” adding: “this war against the Sarakis will not successfully veil his unpreparedness for governance and divert people’s attention from the glaring lack of visionary, clear-cut plan to deliver on his empty promises to the people. He definitely cannot get away with all the atrocities he has been committing.”
“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. I became Governor 16 years before him and served out my constitutional limit of eight years. Within the period, I was Chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum. I have moved on to serve in the federal legislature and by the grace of God, I headed the National Assembly as the number three man in the country. No matter, how well he tried to rewrite history, it is on record that I left Kwara State a lot better than I met it.
“In fact, the University that he is struggling to rename was established by my administration as just one out of many legacies we left behind. This Governor needs a lot more efforts, years, Intelligence and resources to attain the level Allah has taken me, not to talk of my late father, Dr. Olusola Abubakar Saraki, the Senate Leader in the Second Republic. As Governor, I used the position to serve the people and during the period I did not dishonour his own father or anybody’s father for that matter,” Saraki further noted.
He advised Abdulrazaq to devote his time and energy to providing good governance and genuine development to residents of the state. “It is well known to the Governor that I fear nobody, except Almighty Allah, the ultimate owner of all powers. 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.
“This Governor has shown that he is not a man who wants peace, co-operation and development. He believes that a constant attack on my family and I is all that he needs to win the hearts of Kwara people. The need to provide good governance is secondary to him. However, it should be made clear to Abdulrazaq and his administration that their attack on my late father cannot erase the legacies of Oloye. No evil design, negative plot or propaganda can successfully rewrite the history of Kwara State. This plot against my late father will not stand. And I will like to make it clear that we will contest this petty, malicious, dubious and bias action of a parochial, vicious and vindictive administration through all legal means. We are sure this is not an action taken in public interest. Rather, it is done in pursuit of a selfish and devious objective,” Saraki concluded.
