Ogbomoso-Fapote-Iseyin road: Ogbomoso residents beg Makinde over non-payment of compensations
pannigeriannews
4 min read
…Govt breaches our agreements – Protesters
By Sunday ADEPOJU
Residents of Ogbomoso, on Friday, appealed to the Oyo State government, led by Governor Seyi Makinde, to pay compensations to the people whose buildings were demolished in the ongoing construction of 76.7km Ogbomoso-Fapote-Iseyin road by the state government.
The construction company handling the Ogbomoso segment of the road had started demolishing buildings which, according to the protesters, was a breach of agreement between the state government’s representatives and the victims.
The peaceful protesters, composed of representatives of Randa area of Ogbomoso to Fapote town, converged on the Living Soul Garden (LSG) Hotel junction after former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akaka’s residence at Randa area at Ogbomoso, carrying placards with different inscriptions to call the government’s attention to the yet to be paid compensations as promised by the state government.
The residents, who commended Governor Makinde for remembering the road and communities, however, expressed displeasure over what they called breach of agreement by the government on the payment of the compensation to the affected owners of the demolished buildings.
On Thursday, June 9, 2022, the representatives of the state’s ministry of works and transport as well as the ministry of land, housing and survey from Ibadan, the state capital, had called the victims of the roads to a meeting held at Adeniran Memorial Grammar School, Low-Cost area, Ogbomoso where issues of monetary compensation were extensively discussed, according the residents.
The protesters told PanNigerian News that the top officials who represented the government at the meeting said the officials explained to them that there would be another two meetings which would be followed by monetary compensation before demolition.
Speaking at the protest, a victim and retired school principal, Mr Oludare Olasupo, said, “We really thank the government of Engr Seyi Makinde for remembering Ogbomoso-Fapote-Iseyin road. But the agreement reached at the meeting between the victims and the officials of the government centered on how to arrange and compensate all of us affected before demolition would start.
“Now, everywhere has been demolished and we have not been compensated. About 120 people are affected. That is a breach of agreement. Let me also add that many houses have been flooded due to heavy downpour. The occupants of those houses that were not even affected now suffer because of the breakage of gutters.
“So, we are appealing to the state government, headed by His Excellency, Engr Seyi Makinde, to come to our aid and expedite action on the payment of compensation based on what has been agreed upon by the government and also to expedite action and finish the entire project as soon as possible to make easy for the residents.”
Another victim, Mr Isaac Adeniran, equally lauded the road project, with strong aversion for the breach of confidence by the government.
Mr Adeniran stated, “This protest is a welcome and collective one. We are protesting now to show our grievances against non-payment of compensation to us. What they are doing now is not what they told us. My house in Randa here is flooded by erosion. We want the government to come to our aid. We were happy with what the government officials told us at the meeting.
“But we are betrayed. This is our government and we embrace it. So, the government should do the needful.”
Mrs Olanike Olaniran narrated what she termed her family’s and others’ ordeals, saying, “We have been rendered homeless. We are homeless now at a time when insecurity is the order of the day. We, therefore, beg the government to be responsive to the challenges caused by the road construction. The government promised us compensation before starting the work. They said they would pay before demolition. This is the contrary”
Speaking on behalf of those whose farm lands were affected, Mr Ezekiel Oyedele, lamented, “I’m one of those whose farm land lands were destroyed by the construction company. My cashew plantation was crushed by the company’s machines. We are many that were affected.
“It is unfortunate that the government that has been encouraging us to go back to agriculture is now doing this to us. This is our plight and we want the government to look into it and save us. Agriculture is not easy. Herders are causing problems and this is another one from government.”
Among the placard’s inscriptions included: ‘GSM, come to our aid by paying our compensation on Ogbomoso-Iseyin road’; ‘our people were hospitalised, come and pay our compensation’; ‘we commend OYSG for road construction in Ogbomoso-Iseyin, but pay our compensation.’
