Ibadan Residents Appeal to Gov Makinde over Circular Road Setback

Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

Residents of the Ibadan Circular Road corridor in Oyo State yesterday again appealed to the state Governor, Seyi Makinde, over the purported plan for a setback of 500 metres left and right of the road.

The affected residents across six local government areas in Ibadanland, while addressing journalists in Ibadan urged the state government to stick to the initial plan of 75 metres left and right of the road setback agreed during the administration of former Governor Rashidi Ladoja.

The Chairman of the corridor residents, Chief Adedeji Ahmed, said over 300,000 residents have been traumatised as they lived in fear of displacement upon the realisation that their source of livelihood was about to be lost.

He noted that several houses have been marked for demolition, appealing to Governor Makinde to speak out on the raging issue and stop further demolitions.

During the press conference, the affected residents in Oluyole, Ona Ara, Egbeda, Lagelu, Akinyele and Ido Local Government Areas displayed banners with various inscriptions such as: ‘We are bleeding with notice of house demolitions’. 

‘Our source of livelihoods are about to go with 500 metres Circular Road corridor’, and ‘Please don’t render us homeless’.

The Secretary of the corridor residents, Mr. Azeez Abass, in his address disclosed to the people that hundreds of thousands residents are traumatised with records of emotional damage due to the ongoing demolitions, while others are living in fear of the proposed plan of taking 500 meters to the right and 500 meters to the left as a road setback.

He said: “It is a shocking move by the governor to take 500 meters to the right and 500 meters to the left for a road setback and displaced people living at the circular road corridor wherein the initial plan was 75 meters by left and 75 meters by right by the past administration of Governor Rashidi Ladoja.

“It is heart-breaking to establish that right from the resurgence of the circular road agitation, Seyi Makinde-led government has never made a public statement to address the situation.

“We challenge the governor to publicly address the citizen of the state stating clearly why he intends to take 500 meters to the right and 500 meters to the left as a road setback.

“Our demand is for him to stop the plan and maintain the gazetted initial plan of 75 meters by left and 75 meters by right as stated by the past administration of His Excellency Governor Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja.”

Other affected residents who also spoke were Adeniyi Fasoye, Oluwafemi Abiola, Adebayomi Adekunle, Oyeneye Christopher, Buliaminu Ogundele, Kayode Babayomi, and urged Governor Makinde to yield to their demands, noting that the consequences of a 500 metres setback was too hard for them to bear.

While they maintained that some projects are done for public interest, they insisted that a 500 metres setback for the Senator Rashidi Ladoja Circular road was beyond the norm.