Tunde Sanni
24 July 2008
Ibadan — Top civil servants in Oyo State are protesting the alleged dispossession of their government quarters by politicianss.
Some politicians allegedly won the bid for the possession of the government quarters in various parts of Ibadan, the state capital in a recent lease of the quarters that would span 99 years.
The civil servants have faulted the bid procedure alleging that the process was contrary to the assurance of the Head of Service, Mr. Ebenezer Okebukola that they, being the sitting civil servants, would be declared winners of their respective quarters.
THISDAY Checks showed that they are unhappy that some politicians' names who are either serving or former government functionaries in the South West states and contractors were displayed in a newspaper publication the following day after the bid as having succeeded in the bid in their stead.
The senior government workers have petitioned the governor, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, Director of the State Security Services (SSS) and the Commissioner of Police in charge of the state command, demanding an immediate intervention before the issue degenerates into a crisis.
Further Checks by THISDAY revealed that the workers were initially carried along by the state government when the quarters located at the Agodi GRA, Onireke GRA, Iyaganku GRA, and Jericho GRA were put up for the exercise.
In his speech while opening the bids, Okebukola declared the sitting tenants winners and assured them that they would be given the right to buy the houses and that it would consider other bidders if they were not interested in buying them.
"The state government is extending to all Oyo State civil servants residents in government quarters a kind gesture of giving them first consideration of offer regardless of whatever amount quoted in their bid forms".
"The quarters would be leased, as it were, based on the highest bid price but not below the reserved price with the present legal sitting civil servant tenants from Oyo State having the first right of refusal to take the lease within two weeks of offer.
"In the event that the successful bidders fail to comply fully with the payment terms, the non-refundable deposit being 10 percent of the bid price, their offer would be forfeited to the state government and the bid price terminated", he stated.
The government allegedly ignored its decision to consider the sitting tenants when it decided to publish the names of winners of the bid on 14th and 15th of July and none of the civil servants made the list.
A careful look at the newspaper publication revealed that legal luminaries, top government officials former and serving comissioners made the list.
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