The All Progressives Congress APC in Oyo state has advised Governor Seyi Makinde to order an immediate stop to the demolition of properties belonging to the citizens in some parts of Ibadan- the State Capital as only this can forestall the imminent revolt against his government by the victims and other residents of the state.
There have been increased hues and cries among residents whose structures have either been demolished or marked for demolition by the agents of the state government on the premise that their landed properties fell within the 500metres earmarked for both sides of the stretch of the 110km Ibadan Circular Road Project.
In a statement issued on Thursday and made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, Oyo APC faulted the defense put forward by the Makinde administration as justification for the encroachment on some federal government facilities and properties spread across the Ibadan and Saki.
“The lamentations coming from the victims of the ongoing demolition of citizens’ properties along the road stretch anticipated for the Ibadan Circular Road Project are so deafening that no sensitive government should ignore. Property owners express their frustrations everywhere around Ibadan and on social media as lives are being lost on account of disappointment and shock Gov. Makinde seems not bothered or concerned.
“To make the matter worse, the state government has not been able to convince the whole world on why it must render several thousands of families homeless just because a 110km road project is to be delivered. Questions have asked regarding what the governor planned to do with the over 500,000 plots of land being forcefully taken from the rightful owners majority of whom are poor citizens but there are no answers coming from the government.
“Now that the citizens are being pushed to the wall, it is natural that people would consider the self help option. The signals are so loud that mammoth crowd of victims should be taken for granted again. We do not want any crisis in our dear state and this is why we are appealing to Gov. Makinde to reduce the set back or corridor on the road to 100metres as against the 500metres (on both sides) being implemented.
“In case of any protest, Gov. Makinde should know that beleaguered residents with bottled up anger against his administration would join hands and the results might be pleasant. Apart from individuals whose lands have been grabbed by the agents of the state government in the last six years, we have traders and business across major markets, in Ibadan, who have been shortchanged in one or the other and this set of people would want to take full advantage of the situation. Therefore, Gov. Makinde must act fast and address the issue immediately.” APC said.
