A former governor of Oyo State, Senator Rasidi Adewolu
Ladoja, has denied a statement by the incumbent Governor, Abiola Ajimobi that
he received a gift of a plot of land from him.
DAILY POST recalls that Ajimobi had on Saturday while
featuring on the state-owned Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS),
declared that he gave Ladoja a plot of land worth N60 million.
But Ladoja in statement made available to journalists on
Sunday by his Media Assistant, Mr. Lanre Latinwo said that the land in question
was once maintained by Ladoja and he (Ajimobi) voluntarily gave the former
governor free of charge when the state housing corporation intended to revolve
the allocation.
He said “To set the records straight, the land in question
is a plot of land which shares a common fence with Ladoja’s house and he has
been the one weeding the plot and keeping it clean.
“Last year, the state Housing Corporation put a notice on
the land to the effect that the state government wanted to revoke the plot. At
that point, Ladoja indicated interest and wrote a letter to the officials and
copied the letter to the governor.
“The land had been fallow before Ladoja became governor and
he never abused his office by appropriating the government land to himself. So,
when the matter got to his office, he (Ajimobi) said it should be given to
Ladoja free of charge.
“Ladoja queried whether the governor has power to waive a
statutory payment and wrote to the Housing Corporation asking for the cost of
the allocation and to which no response has been sent till date. The story that
he gave Ladoja a parcel of land therefore does not add up,” he said.
Ladoja in the statement also faulted another claim by
Ajimobi where he stated that the state government spent N100m on Olubadan
coronation.
He said that Ibadan people did not beg the governor for
money for the coronation of the monarch a year ago.
“Was the money he claimed to have spent budgeted for? Was it
personal money? Did Ibadan people go to him cap in hand for him to foot the
bill? Oyo State money should be spent judiciously for the use of all the people
of the state and not a section of it. How much did the governor spend on the
coronation ceremonies in other towns and cities?”
By Daramola Adebayo
