Most of the property owners claiming compensations for building on the Ibadan Circular Road corridor erected their structures on portions of land that had been duly acquired by government and compensated for in the past.
This was disclosed by the chief press secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, Dr. Sulaiman Olanrewaju, during a chat with members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council, in Ibadan on Tuesday.
According to him, the Makinde-led government has not extended circular road corridor beyond what is in the path being gazetted by previous administrations, adding that the available record shows that adequate compensations were paid for the original owners.
Residents of the affected areas at different locations in Ibadan, the state capital, have appealed to the state governor to shelve its plan to continue with construction of the massive project.
They argue that many people will be rendered homeless if the project goes according to plan as a substantial stretch of its path have been fairly developed.
Olanrewaju traced the source of the current problem to the failure of successive governments to execute the project despite its potentials to transform the economic fortune of the state and that of its residents, adding that Gov. Makinde identified this reality and demonstrate the political will to get it done.
He alleged that most of those who had received compensations from government resold dubiously the land to the current owners who probably weren’t aware of the proposed project.
He, however, informed that the government has decided that it will not demolish any of the affected structures until adequate compensations are paid to the owners.
Olanrewaju also said the governor has directed that everyone land owner should be paid even if their properties are not registered with the government.
