PDP Reacts To The Demolition Of Saraki’s House By Kwara State Govt

PDP Stands With Saraki On House Demolition

The Kwara State government on Thursday, demolished the popular ‘Ile-Arugbo’ in Ilorin the state capital, a building that used to belong to the Saraki dynasty.

Giving reasons for the demolition, the state government stated that the land on which the building was situated was originally marked to house the parking space for the State-owned Civil Service Clinic and was not properly acquired by the Saraki family.

The Saraki family in a statement released by former Senate President Bukola Saraki had however disclosed that the land in contention was properly acquired by his father, the late Chief Olusola Saraki through one of his investment companies.

The state government, however, denied such claims and carried out the demolition exercise in the early hours of Thursday.

Reacting to the development, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, its National Publicity Secretary has described the demolition of Saraki’s property as wicked, a recipe for crisis and part of APC’s hounding of opposition.

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) condemns in the strongest terms, the unwarranted and vindictive demolition of a property belonging to former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Kwara state government.”

“The PDP described the invasion and demolition as wicked, cowardly and a direct recipe for huge crisis in the state,” the statement read.

It added that; “The party holds that it is clear that the action of the state government is borne out of hatred and political intolerance, in furtherance of the larger plot by the APC and its administration to intimidate, suppress, hound, crush and silence opposition and dissenting voices in our country, in the bid to foist a siege mentality on the citizenry.

The PDP dismisses the reasons being spewed by the APC administration for this New Year dastardly act as baseless, false and incongruous, as they fail to add up, to justify the ferocious invasion, harassment of citizens and demolition of the said property.

The demolition is a complete subversion of rule of law as the matter is already in court. The APC-led Kwara state government could not wait for the outcome of the court process apparently because it knows that it is pursuing an illegal agenda.

Nigerians know how the APC and its government have been hounding, harassing and dragging Senator Saraki around over trumped-up charges, for daring to be among compatriots at the forefront of the quest to rescue our nation from misrule and strangleholds of the APC and its cabal.

The APC and Kwara state government should perish their idea of trying to use false claims and propaganda to justify their wicked act and take over the property, as such cannot hoodwink Nigerians from the truth.

Moreover, the timing of the invasion and demolition, in the wee hours and under the cover of darkness, is a direct indication that the state government was carrying out an unwholesome and condemnable operation during which defenceless women were fired with gunshots.

The PDP invites Nigerians to note that demolition of property, genuinely belonging to opposition leaders and other Nigerians perceived to be opposed to APC’s oppressive administration, has become a policy of the APC and its government in their bid to subjugate Nigerians and exclusively appropriate our common patrimony for their selfish purposes.

Nigerians have not forgotten how APC leaders, including those at the Presidency, applauded whenever property belonging to perceived political opponents was unjustly and viciously pulled down in APC-controlled states and even in Abuja.

The PDP, however, cautions the APC, its administration, and in this particular case, the Kwara state government, against crossing the boundaries and stretching the forbearance of the people, which is already causing a tension that could trigger serious unrest in our country.

It is also instructive to note that in the years the PDP governed Kwara state, there was no case of government demolishing the property of opposition members or supporters under any guise whatsoever.

Our party, therefore, stands with Senator Saraki and cautions the Kwara state government to henceforth steer clear of the property.”