Governorship candidate of Accord Party in the 2015 general elections in Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, has said that the parcel of land beside his Bodija, Ibadan residence has never been claimed by him as been speculated by some people in government.
The state government had recently placed a post on the land warning trespassers to beware that it belongs to Oyo state government.
The move raised curiosity and suspicion among members of the public in the state.
Clarifying the situation yesterday in Ibadan, Senator Ladoja, who is a former governor of the state, said that when the warning sign post was erected by the state government, himself and other discerning members of the public, were taken aback by the move.
He argued that there was never a time when he contended the ownership of the parcel of land in question, saying that he only makes use of the land to plant farm products.
On the controversial land were cassava plants and few vegetables planted by the former Governor.
Also sharing space with Mr. Ladoja on the land, is a mentally unstable man, who is said to have lived in a make-shift abode constructed with nylon and waste papers, for more than 15 years.
The former governor noted that he has been farming on the plot of land for the past 20 years to grow vegetables and other crops for consumption.
“What I think is that some people in the government had gone to the governor to spread the rumour that me Ladoja has claimed the plot of land which is very untrue. So, suddenly, I was surprised to see this warning sign post that this land belongs to Oyo state government. In the first place, I have said this land belong to me. It is not my land. I only use the land which has been lying fallow for decades for farming.
“And that is why I have never planted anything that will take a very long time to harvest on the land because I know that any time the owner may come and said look I need my land. So, if that happens I will just remove the things I plant. What will I do with a plot of land, look from here to the other those buildings are mine.
“It is just unfortunate that some people in government may believe that Ladoja want to claim the land, for what?” he queried.
Senator Ladoja is said to owe large expanse of farmlands in five states of the country.
