By Adeyinka Adeniran
The All Progressives Congress APC in Oyo state has told Governor Seyi Makinde to rescind his alleged decision to take over pieces of land belonging to some residents of Ibadan in the guise of creating setbacks for the ongoing controversial circular road project expected to run through the six local government areas in the outer parts of the state capital.
Controversies surrounding the announcement of 500 metres as setbacks on both sides of the 110kilometre stretch continue unabated as owners of properties on the affected land portion groan in pains while they plead for leniency even as many of them have had their choice building demolished or marked for demolition by the agents of the state government.
In a statement issued on Monday and made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, Oyo APC queried the “rationale behind the determination of the Makinde administration to forcefully hijack over 24,700 acres of privately owned land when such action would render at least 170,000 families homeless and stranded at the end of the day. To say the least, this is not only inhuman and cruel but it is also unacceptable.
“Tongues have been wagging on why a governor would alter the approved plan of a developmental project initiated by his predecessors to suit his own taste for feudalism in a democracy. While members of the public do not have sufficient information about the progress made on the real construction of the circular road project apart from the fact that a whooping N300 billion was set aside as the cost, the Makinde administration has prioritized grabbing of land belonging to poor citizens along the projected route for about two years now.
“Even as the state government claims the actions were being taken in the overriding public interest, certain questions on the exact developmental projects which are to be done on such expanse of land have not been answered by the governor or any of his men. Therefore, this lends credence to the submission from many quarters that the development could be a wider repeat of what had been done to various land resources owned by either the government or private individuals/organizations forcefully hijacked and sold off by the agents of the governor in recent times.
“As a matter of fact, the fraudulent sale of BCOS Staff Quarters, ARCEDEM Estates in Wofun owned by ECOWAS, 80 per cent of land on which Agodi Gardens was located, Trans Amusement Park among others still hurts the good citizens of the state who are yet to come to term on why a government would decide to sell off public assets and heritage without any caution. To this end, it is imperative for Gov. Makinde to halt his plan to hijack land and properties owned by hapless citizens with a view to selling or transferring same to his friends and cohorts from other parts of the country who disguise as investors.” APC stated.
