Kwara Govt Exonerates Toyin Saraki from Lease of Amusement Park

Date: 2013-02-09

The Kwara State Government has cleared Mrs Toyin Saraki, wife of the former state governor, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, of any involvement in the lease of the Ilorin Amusement Park to the Artee Group, operators of Park n Shop and Spar Supermarket brands in Nigeria. The clarification follows a reported law suit by an Ilorin-based group linking the former first lady to the lease of the park.

 Making the clarification in a statement issued in Ilorin, the state capital, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Prince Tunji Moronfoye, dismissed the group’s claim as politically-motivated disinformation, stressing that neither Mrs Saraki nor anyone associated with her was involved in the lease of the park. Moronfoye, who emphasised that Mrs Saraki only renovated the park in 2004 as a philanthropic gesture, further described the listing of Senator Saraki’s wife as a defendant in an alleged suit as a futile campaign orchestrated by the opposition and targeted at the Saraki family.

Giving a background to the transaction, the commissioner said the park was leased to Artee Group in 2010 when the company agreed to include Kwara State in its plans to expand to six locations in Nigeria following intense lobby by the state government. According to Moronfoye, Artee Group’s retail formats include department store chain Park n Shop and Dutch Supermarket Chain Spar. As at the end of 2012, according to Moronfoye, Artee Group had signed firm agreement with retail anchor tenants for the proposed mall, including Mr. Price, Spar, Park n Shop, KFC and BhS.

“In January 2010, Artee Group, promoters of the Spar retail brand in Nigeria and the Park & Shop retail brand acceded to request of the State Government and requested for a suitable location within the Ilorin Metropolis for the sole purpose of developing a modern shopping mall and entertainment arcade. Representatives of the State and those of Artee Group visited various sites in the Ilorin metropolis to determine the suitable place for the mall. The sites visited include, the Flower Garden, a site near the metropolitan square, the Amusement park (along Wahab Folawiyo road, Ilorin), which hitherto was being used as a relaxation/drinking pub, as well as a zoo accommodating few animals.

“After the visits, representatives of Artee Group chose the Amusement park as best suited for the project. Subsequently, the company made a financial offer on the property which the state government accepted on April 14, 2010. At no point in the transaction culminating in the lease of the Amusement Park to Artee Group did Mrs Saraki or anyone related or linked to her participate directly or indirectly.”

Related

Ancestral Land: Ilorin Elders Raise Fresh Posers for Kwara Govt

Saraki Denies Wife's Involvement in Sale of Ilorin Amusement Park

Alleged Sale of Ancestral Lands: Ilorin Senior Citizens Drag KWSG to Court

Ancestral Land: Only court can exonerate your wife, Ilorin elders reply Saraki

Group Urges Peace in Saraki, Elders' Land Dispute

Groups, NLC Chief Urge Caution over Kwara Land, Offa-Erin-Ile Crises

Alleged Sale of Ancestral Lands: Ilorin Senior Citizens Drag KWSG to Court

 

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Saidu Kawu     Bashirat Bola Bello     Amusa Bello     Busari Toyin Isiaka     Olatunji Bamgbola     Wole Oke     Salau Kabiru Abdullahi     Ayodele Kuburat Olaosebikan     Suleiman Yahya Alapansapa     Ilorin     Yusuf Abdulkadir     Ahmad Lawan     African Democratic Congress     Ogidi-Oloje     Oniye     Alumni Association Of The Federal Polytechnic Offa     Abdulfatai Salman Baakini     ASUU     Saadu Yusuf     Christopher Tunji Ayeni     Ahmad Fatima Bisola     Ita-Ore     Oloje     Riskat Opakunle     Yoruba     Kwabes     Kwara United     Titus Ashaolu     Joseph Yemi Ajayi     Fatimat Saliu     Al-Ilory     Justina Oha     Abdullahi Adisa Akodudu     Basic Education Certificate Examination     Mansur Alfanla     Olofa Of Offa     Garment Factory     Facemasks     Isapa     Dele Momodu     Dagbalodo     Amuda Aluko     Abdulahi Abubakar Bata     Gbemisola Saraki     Rotimi Samuel Olujide     AbdulGafar Tosho     Isiaka Gold     Abdulrazaq Akorede     Odolaye Aremu     Lasiele Alabi Yahaya     VADA     Naira Redesign     Tope Daramola     Dan Masanin     Nigeria Association Of Women Journalists     Muhammadu Gobir     Kwha.gov.ng     Haleeman Salman     Assayomo     Iliasu     Razaq Ayobami Akanbi     Law School Scholarship     Ubandawaki     Olabimpe Olani     Wasiu Odewale     Ilofa     General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport     Simeon Ajibola     Abubakar Suleiman     Baba-Isale     COVID-19 Palliatives     Adamu Ibrahim Sabi     MAI Akande     Igbaja     Laolu Saraki     Samuel Elizabeth Keatswa     Abdulrauf Aliyu    

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Bisi Oyeleke     Goodluck Jonathan     Ishola Balogun Fulani     Ayobola Ipinlaiye     Kwara State Football Association     Saka Adeyemo     Magaji Nda     Facebook     Rebecca Olanrewaju     Ilesha-Gwanara     John Obuh     Omoniyi M. Ayinla     AIT Ilorin     Oluranti Idowu     AGF Abdulrazaq     IYA YUSUF     Mohammed Tunde-Jimoh     Sheikh Hamzat Yusuf Ariyibi     Kubra Kazum     National Broadcasting Commission     Umar Sanda Yusuf     John Dara     Segun Adeniyi     Ileloke     Olatunji Ayeni     Risikat Lawal     Bolakale Ayo     Farouk Salim     Kwara State Pension Board     Muhammad Mustapha Suleiman     Sulyman Age AbdulKareem     Monthly Sanitation     ASMAU PLAZA     Offa Descendants Union     Ibrahim Akaje     Ibrahim Abikan     Forgo Battery     Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq     Akorede     Olota Of Odo-Owa     Lai Mohammed     Chemiroy Nigeria Limited     Sango-UITH Road     IsDB     Abubakar Aliagan     Adaramaja     Kwara     Ahman Patigi     Yaman     Veterinary Teaching Hospital     Kayode Bankole     Agor Market     Idowu Aremu     CT Ayeni     Bolaji Gambari     Otunba Taiwo Joseph     Halimat Yusuf     Musbau A. Akanji     Dan Iya     Abdulahi Abubakar Bata     Emmanuel Olatunji Adesoye     Eghe Igbinehi     IQRA College     Yashikira     Owode Market     Shuaib Abdulkadir     Mohammed Halidu     Students Union Government     National Party Of Nigeria     Folorunsho Alao     Oko Erin     Suraj Tunji Oyewale     KWTV     Afolabi-Oshatimehin Adenike Harriet     College Of Arabic And Islamic Legal Studies     Tunde Oyawoye     Bashir Adigun