Kwara, APC chieftain bicker over building demolition

The demolition of a shopping complex in Ilorin, Kwara State capital has sparked off a controversy between the state government and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Moshood Mustapha, who owns the building.

The demolition of the Crystal Shopping Complex located on Sulu Gambari Road was carried out at about 10 pm on Sunday with heavy security guards in the area.

However, Mustapha, a two-term member of the House of Representatives, who described the demolition as a political vendetta, said he obtained approval from the government for the building of the shopping complex, while the Kwara State Geographic Information Service said the land was allocated for a car park and not corner shops.

The Kwara State Geographic Information Service said in a statement signed by its chairman, Sulyman Andulkareem, on Sunday afternoon, that the building violated the government’s approval for the land.
He said, “The Kwara GIS is removing the Crystal Corner shops because new findings show clearly that the owner grossly violated the government’s Land Use approval issued to the owner on March 22, 2013.

“The approval was for a commercial ‘car park only.’
The agency also added that “the illegal building conspicuously creates obstacles for urban planning, road expansion and environmental protection, key features of the urban renewal programme of the government”, noting that, “It is trite to say that a land allotted for a car park cannot and should not become corner shops which it became overnight.”
The agency said tenants occupying the shops had been asked to remove their goods, adding that the ongoing urban renewal programme was in the best interest of the public.

“The programme is neutral to affiliations as many defaulting properties had earlier been removed for similar reasons, and it will be unfair to give preferential treatment to any structure above the larger interest of the public”, it added.

Nonetheless, the government’s explanation notwithstanding, Mustapha, in a viral video posted from The Netherlands late on Sunday, said the demolition of his building was politically motivated as the government gave a three-hour eviction notice to the tenants on Saturday and demolished the building on Sunday night.

“Governor AbdulRaman AbdulRazaq demolished my property because of the little political disagreement I have with him. Though we are both members of the APC, I disagree with him because of his one-man show of running the state government and his low performance.

“As a result of this disagreement, he promised to destroy my property and all my investments in the state”, Mustapha alleged.