Posted by By Collins Edomaruse on
No fewer than 207 Nigerians including members of the family of the First Lady, Mrs. Stella Obasanjo, governors, ministers, senior military and police officers and top civil servants have been secretly allocated Federal Government houses in Ikoyi, Lagos from those slated for sale in an advertisement early in the week.
No fewer than 207 Nigerians including members of the family of the First Lady, Mrs. Stella Obasanjo, governors, ministers, senior military and police officers and top civil servants have been secretly allocated Federal Government houses in Ikoyi, Lagos from those slated for sale in an advertisement early in the week.
But irked by the development, President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed dissatisfaction and queried the Housing Minister, Mrs. Mobolaji Osomo, for what he called the shoddy manner she has handled the process and consequently, canceled the allocations.
However, THISDAY checks at the ministry revealed that unknown to the present occupants of the properties and other Nigerians intending to bid, several of the houses advertised for sale have been allocated under the table and in some cases payment partly or fully made by the beneficiaries long before the bidding process begins.
Further investigations also showed that at least six governors benefited from the behind-the-scene deal. They are: Dr. Peter Odili (Rivers State); Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Osun State); Otunba Gbenga Daniel (Ogun State); Dr. Bukola Saraki (Kwara State), Mr. Donald Duke (Cross River State) and Alhaji Adamu Muazu (Bauchi State).
Besides, embattled Senate President Adolphus Wabara and former Alliance for Democracy (AD) senator who defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Musiliu Obanikoro were among National Assembly members who have already been given houses.
Others are Senator John Azuta Mbata, Senator Isa Maina and Senator Ben Obi.
Members of the House of Representatives who also benefitted, according to the investigation, included Deputy Speaker Austin Opara, Sadiq Yar'Adua, Bawa Bwari and Abdul Ningi.
Also included are Minister of Police Affairs, Chief Broderick Bozimo, his counterpart in the Sports Ministry, Col. Bala Mande (rtd) as well as the Minister of State (Defence), Dr. Rowland Oritsejafor and Ambassador Adamu Waziri of the Ministry of Commerce. Their former colleague in the ministry of education, Professor Fabian Osuji is also on the list.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-General Martin Agwai tops the list of the armed forces and police personnel, either serving or retired, who benefitted from the deal. Others are the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, Maj-Gen Lawrence Onoja (rtd), Maj-Gen Adeyinka Adebayo (rtd), Maj-Gen Olufemi Olutoye (rtd), Maj-Gen A. Ajibade, Rear Admiral Adesokan, Brig-Gen J. B Akinyemi, Deputy Inspectors-General of Police (DIGs) Bello Labaran, Musa Abdulkadir and Mike Okiro.
THISDAY checks also revealed that two Supreme Court Justices, Adolphus Karibi-Whyte and A. O Ejiwunmi as well as the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Roseline Ukeje are beneficiaries.
Former National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Barnabas Gemade as well as Personal Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo on Traditional Matters, Mr. Segun Awolowo also got allocations.
Top businessmen on the list include Oba Otudeko, Chief Subomi Balogun, Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries, Mr. Festus Odimegwu as well as corporate bodies like SIO Properties and Power Properties Ltd.
The investigations also showed that the Governor of the Central Bank, Professor Charles Soludo and the Director-General of the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Dora Akunyili, benefited from the allocation.
Others are Chief (Mrs.) E. O Adegbite, Chief O. O Ogunbuwa, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Architect Albert Ikomi and Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan.
In canceling the allocations, Obasanjo in a letter to Osomo said: "...I must express my great displeasure, in very clear terms, about the way you seem to be handling the sale of federal government property in Lagos
"I have a document sent to me anonimously (copy attached), where 207 people had been allocated or offered land/property for sale surreptitiously; some with full payment, some with deposit and some without payment at all.
"I also feel personally embarrassed that almost all members of my wife's family are on that list. As it is, the entire list will now be canceled without fail, the money collected should be refunded and all the property will be advertised for sale except those allocated to Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari and Chief Emeka Anyaoku which had been approved before this exercise on special condition of encouraging their relocation to Nigeria and on the basis of current value plus 10 per cent. Report faithful compliance with this instruction."
In newspaper advertisement early in the week, the Implementation Committee of the White Paper on the Commission of Inquiry into the alienation of Federal Government Landed Property called for bids from members of the public interested in purchasing the landed properties in Ikoyi.
A statement by the Secretary of the Committee Professor P.T. Ahire advised interested Nigerians to collect bidding forms, free of charge, from either the office of the Federal Controller of Housing Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Onikan Lagos or the Presidential Advisory Council, the Presidency, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Federal Secretariat, Phase 1, Abuja.
The properties slated for sale include 3 bedroom houses, 4 bed room detached houses with Boys Quarters, and 5 bedroom detached houses.
Although the bid is open to all interested Nigerians, sitting tenants who are interested in buying the houses they currently occupy have the first right of purchase.