Kwara state Government on Thursday insisted that it paid compensations to original owners of the land where the state Polytechnic, Ilorin, is sited.
The 5,500 hectares of the land housing the institution was acquired by the then military administrator of the state, late Lt-Col David Bamgboye in 1974.
Some villagers within the premises of the over 50 years old school had alleged none payment of compensation by the state government.
At a stakeholders meeting held in the institution’s premises in Ilorin, the state government said “it has the record of all it paid compensations to over 50 years ago”.
According to a director in the state Geographic Information Service (GIS), Mrs Oluwafunke Olanrewaju, while responding to the allegation, the records and names of those compensated are with the service.
Olanrewaju said “most of the structures erected by the villagers on the polytechnic’s don’t have titles. Incidentally, the Land Use Act of 1975 confers ownership of all lands to the government..”
Giving an historical breakdown of the acquisition of the land, Abubakar Aremu, a surveyor, said that a meeting was held between the then state government and absentee landowners in 1975 where some portion of the land was excised for some villages for settlement.
Earlier, Protem President, Kwara state Polytechnic Alumni Worldwide, Engr Abu Salami, said the state government and the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) have not shown the political will to initiate the process of legally taking over its property and officially hand the same to the polytechnic.
“Hence, part of the reason we are organising this forum is to gear the three arms of government in Kwara state and IEDPU to initiate the process of legally taken possession of its property and officially handing its ownership over to Kwara State Polytechnic to allow peace to reign within the Polytechnic environment”.
Engr Salami urged the students “that our reason for inviting you is not to foment trouble but for you to also know about our concerns and to arm you with historical facts by which this peaceful process of fighting for our right is achieved”.
Daily Trust reports that the stakeholders’ meeting was attended by management of the polytechnic, traditional institution, Kwara state Geographic Information Science, Students Union Government (SUG), media executives and the host, the alumni association of the institution.
A communique signed by James Ogunlakin, chairman of the drafting committee, was issued at the end of the programme which also involved an hour-long tour of the encroached land of the institution at Oke Aponle, Ara, Gatta, Boyi, Oke Ose, Akuro, Rector’s Quarters and proposed Polytechnic Farm among others.
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