Emmanuel Thomas l Wednesday, March 08, 2017
IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudasiru Obasa has been fingered in alleged land grabbing activity in the state.
In a petition addressed to the state governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, Secretary General, Salvage for Development Initiative, Hammed Abdul-lateef Gafar alleged that the Speaker is using his position as number three citizen in connivance with officials of the Ministry of Lands, the Permanent Secretary, Mr Shuaheeb Olabode Agoro and the Executive Secretary, Kayode Ogunubi and Engr. Toyin Omotosho to perpetrate his nefarious activities, using the cloak of his office as Speaker.
In the petition which also copied Commissioner for Justice and Permanent Secretary Lands, and others, the petitioner alleged that the Speaker has conered to himself lands in Oko-Oba Schemes I and II and that he is presently aworking on grabbing another land in Magodo GRA, No 28, Adekunle Banjo Street, precisely, belonging to one late Mr.Banji Osman Ayoola, from his widow, Biola Ayoola, who is based in Chigaco, Illinois in the United States of America.
According to the petitioner, in 2012, Hon Obasa showed interest in purchasing the said land valued at N30 million.
“The deed of agreement provided that he pays N15 million, take possession of the property and within 14 days of taking possession, he would pay the balance of the N15 million.
“However, Hon Obasa backed out of the deal for reasons best known to him. He however, used his office to coarse the Permanent Secretary, Bode Agoro and Executive Secretary, Kayode Ogunubi of the Ministry of Lands to get him a fake letter of allocation of the said plot of land in 2016 and had them backdated to 2012”, he said.
He said that sometimes last, Obasa allegedly went to the property with the intent of starting construction works, before he was stopped by the landlords association of Adekunle Banjo Street, who told him that they knew the owner of the property to be a widow and not the Speaker.
“Despite using the police to harass the landlords, they stood their grounds and prevented him from gaining access to the property. He was said to have also used his position as the number three citizen of the state to arrest some family members of the owner of the property and had them locked up”, the petitioner said.
Reacting to the development, Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Mr. Musbau Rasaq said the allegations contained in the said petion is nothing but total falsehold.
” The Speaker has nothing to do with the said land. The Speaker has not bought any land in that area”, he said and challenged the Salvage for Development Initiative to carry out land search in the Department of Lands.
According to him, the NGO ought to have done due diligence through a comprehensive investigation before going to press.
LAND GRABBING ACCUSATIONS AGAINST THE HONOURABLE SPEAKER OF LAGOS STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, RT. HON. MUDASHIRU OBASA.
We write in respect of the above.
We wish to bring to the attention of your Excellency the alleged nefarious activity of land grabbing being perpetrated by Honourable Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Mudashiru Obasa.
This is despite the efforts of your administration to bring to an end the atrocities being committed by land grabbers in the Centre of Excellence. It is also disheartening that someone who superintended over the passage of an anti-land grabbing bill could be one of the perpetrators of the act, using his position as a lawmaker and Speaker to take over property of hapless Lagosians.
Your Excellency, apart from allegedly using his position in connivance with some state Ministry of Lands officials, to wit, the Permanent Secretary, Mr Shuaheeb Olabode Agoro and the Executive Secretary, Kayode Ogunubi, Hon Obasa is also using one Engr. Toyin Omotosho, a specialist tout in land grabbing to perpetrate his nefarious activities, using the cloak of his office as Speaker.
Apart from the allegation against him of cornering almost all allocated lands, even with Certificates of Occupancy, but without any structure, to himself in Oko-Oba Schemes I and II, Hon Obasa is presently in the eye of the storm in his attempt to grab another land in Magodo GRA, No 28, Adekunle Banjo Street, precisely, belonging to one late Mr.Banji Osman Ayoola, from his widow, Biola Ayoola, who is based in Chigaco, Illinois in the United States of America.
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According to information at our disposal, in 2012, Hon Obasa showed interest in purchasing the said land valued at N30 million. The deed of agreement provided that he pays N15 million, take possession of the property and within 14 days of taking possession, he would pay the balance of the N15 million.
However, Hon Obasa backed out of the deal for reasons best known to him. He however, used his office to coarse the Permanent Secretary, Bode Agoro and Executive Secretary, Kayode Ogunubi of the Ministry of Lands to get him a fake letter of allocation of the said plot of land in 2016 and had them backdated to 2012.
He sometimes last week allegedly went to the property with the intent of starting construction works, before he was stopped by the landlords association of Adekunle Banjo Street, who told him that they knew the owner of the property to be a widow and not the Speaker.
Despite using the police to harass the landlords, they stood their grounds and prevented him from gaining access to the property. He was said to have also used his position as the number three citizen of the state to arrest some family members of the owner of the property and had them locked up.
Meanwhile, your Excellency, our investigation has revealed that the lawyer representing Mrs Ayoola, Tayo Oyetibo and Co, had no knowledge of the sale of the property in question to Hon Obasa, since he had declined an offer made to him in 2012.We are of the opinion that such activity by the number three citizen of the Centre of Excellence, if not checked now would bring a big dent on the image of your administration and the All progressives Congress, not only in Lagos, but across the federation, as it would also make nonsense of the anti-corruption stance of the APC-led Federal Government.
In view of this, we urge your Excellency to use your good offices to ensure proper and diligent investigation of these allegations against the Speaker, who has been described as a ‘specialist in land grabbing’, and his cohorts, and where found culpable, should be appropriately sanctioned to serve as deterrent to others.
Attending to this matter with the urgency it deserves will not only do your excellency a good service, but will also go a long way to convince Lagosians that your administration does not pay lip service to ensuring that every resident of Lagos is given equal treatment.
It is ironical that while your Excellency is doing everything within your power to eradicate the menace of land grabbers and the ‘omo onile’ syndrome in the Centre of Excellence, a highly placed official of this administration is turning back the hands of the clock.
If those who are supposed to make laws and uphold the tenets of democracy are the ones now breaking the laws with impunity, then, your Excellency, our nascent democracy is in grave danger. Perhaps, we may need to remind your Excellency that there are many more like the Speaker, who are hiding under their official powers to deny many Lagosians of their rights and if the Speaker is not investigated, and if found guilty, punished accordingly, then Lagosians would have no choice but to lose their confidence and trust in your leadership to take Lagos State to the next level.
We want to seize this opportunity to express our profound appreciation and gratitude to your Excellency for promptly attending to issues raised by our NGO and treating them with dispatch. We hope you will also accord this the same prompt action.
Be assured, your Excellency, our highest regards.
Yours faithfully,
For: Salvage for Development Initiative
Hammed Abdul-lateef Gafar
General Secretarycc:
Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly
Lagos State Honourable Commissioner for Justice
Lagos State Honourable Commissioner for Lands
Lagos State Commissioner of Police
Clerk of the Lagos State House of Assembly
