Osun Government breaks silence on alleged seizure of Osogbo Technical College land for private estate
The Osun State Government has said it has acknowledged and is looking into petitions into alleged takeover of a portion of land belonging to Osogbo Technical College for erection of a private estate.
NewsClick Nigeria reports that the Osogbo-born professionals under the auspices of Osogbo Affairs Forum (OSAF) had yesterday raised the alarm over alleged attempts by the Governor Ademola Adeleke-led Osun State Government to cede a significant portion of Government Technical College’s land to developers to build a private estate.
Members of the Forum in their outrage questioned the state government’s motive of placing private profit over public welfare by ceding an education institution’s land for business without due consultation with established authorities or indigenes of Osogbo town.
But the state government in a swift reaction assured assured people of Osogbo Land that the dispute over the land belonging to the Technical College will be resolved in favour of the capital city even as it clarified that the dispute was inherited from the previous administration.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, the state government narrated that Governor Ademola Adeleke met a legal dispute over the land when he assumed office in 2022, informing the public that a consent Judgment ceding the land to land owners was on ground as at 2022.
The Commissioner narrated that the government was surprised that a school land could be returned to land owners when the school is still in existence and in need of such landed properties.
He explained that the government in its push to reclaim public land re-acquired the land, noting however that the subject is still in court which even sat on the matter yesterday.
“The government however wishes to state that only the best interest of Osogbo people must prevail in this matter. The government reassures Osogbo people that only their wishes will be supported and nothing will be done to negatively affect the communal interest of the state capital”, the Commissioner noted.
According to Oluomo Alimi, the government of Governor Ademola Adeleke is always for the interest of Osogbo in particular and Osun people in general, assuring that securing the disputed land for public good is paramount to the state leadership.
