Sequel to the land crisis between people of Ayegun Village of Egbeda Local Government and a company over alleged illegal acquisition of land, the Oyo state Housing Corporation under the leadership of Barr. Bayo Lawal has debunked series of allegations against the corporation.
Speaking with stakeholders during a peace meeting in his office on Thursday, Barrister Bayo Lawal said the crisis didn’t start under the current administration adding that the land had been sold to a company during the previous administration.
He explained that the land which was bought by the residents is illegal as many failed to acquire the Certificate of Occupancy.
“They claimed that Housing Corporation is demolishing houses but the area we are talking about belongs to the government of Oyo state. This particular land had been sold by the previous administration to a particular company and they have the Certificate of Occupancy of the land. This is not the hand work of Government.
“To our surprise, many of the residents failed to present the Certificate of Occupancy and they already have investments on the land. So this is not the case of this government.” he said.
Furthermore, he appealed to the residents that the current administration in the state is keen to the interest of the people. He added that the Seyi Makinde-led government is willing to look into the matter and ensure there is peace in the community.
Representative of the Olubadan, Aare Mogaji of Ibadanland, Alhaji Asimiyu Adepoju appealed to the state government to look into the matter as many of the residents have already invested a lot on the land.
He said: “It’s so sadden that many properties have been demolished and the matter have reached the table of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Mohood Olalekan Balogun.
“Olubadan wants peace in Oyo State and in this case, we need the intervention of the state government because of the agitation of the residents. We believe in the government of today and we want them to know that the land belongs to the people before the government took over the land.”
One of the residents who spoke with InsideOyo.com said she was not aware that the land is illegal when she bought it from the Adekanbi Family.
“When I bought the land, I didn’t know it belongs to the government but I discovered I was unable to obtain my C of O. But now that we are in a situation, we have to appeal to the government to help us.”
