A group under the aegis of the Lokoja Development Association, LDA, has alleged that some top government officials in Kogi State are behind the illegal sale of land belonging to the state’s Ministry of Agriculture.
The group, which is seeking the intervention of Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, on this development, revealed that the land is located along Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida Road, beside HABSO filling station, in Lokoja.
They further warned that the development may cause mayhem in the area if nothing is urgently done.
The LDA Chairman, Alhaji Musa Usman, while speaking with journalists, said: “We woke up last week and saw some men who claimed they were government officials measuring this land and subsequently ordering its fencing.
“When we asked them, they said that the parcel of land and building had been sold to one top government official at the Government House.
“The structure on this land was built by the Northern Nigeria Government in the 1960s as the Produce Office for Kabba Province. When Kogi State was created in 1991, it was then converted to Tractor Hiring Office by the state Ministry of Agriculture.
“It remained the Ministry of Agriculture property until it was allegedly sold by some government officials. As far as we are concerned, nobody, no matter how highly placed, will be allowed to put any structure here. We will continue to protect government and our ancestral lands in Lokoja.
‘This land and the ancient building are supposed to be a monument that the state government ought to rehabilitate for tourism purposes and not be sold to a top government official that will use ill-gotten money to develop for personal use,” Usman advised.
He said further; “We are using this medium to call on the state government to, as a matter of urgency, stop any development by an individual or group on this land.
“If nothing is done to stop the buyer of this land from further development, we shall embark on mass protests until the land is handed back to the state government. We promise to continue to expose the activities of these land grabbers claiming to be government officials.
“The LDA Chairman therefore appealed to the state government to set up an intelligent team that will be dispatched to various local government areas to identify and apprehend individuals involved in the unauthorised sale of government properties.”
