Community worries over compensation on houses marked for Lotto Interchange bridge
Ogun-Ori Community
• Rejects Ogun government’s involvement
Ogunrun Ori community, in Obafemi-Owode Local Council of Ogun State has urged the Federal Government to fulfill her promise of compensating owners of over 400 houses marked for demolition for the Lotto interchange along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The community, who said they are not averse to the project, which is for the overall interest of the larger populace, rejected moves by the Ogun State government to take over the role.
At a rally held last Sunday against the move, the community requested the Federal Government to take up the full responsibility of compensating the affected house owners.
Chairman, Pakuro Area Community Development Committee (CDC), Mr. Anthony Omoloso, told The Guardian, yesterday, they had already held several meetings with officials of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, including, the minister, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, where issues of adequate compensation for the marked houses were discussed before the sudden turns of event.
According to him, since the issue started on April 15, 2019, progress was made, till September last year, when the minister visited the site in company of Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun.
He said: “ We held the first and second meetings, even a stakeholders’ meeting with Fashola in attendance, but all of a sudden , since September last year, when the minister came for on the spot assessment of the project with Ogun State governor Dapo Abiodun.
“ Officials of Ogun State Ministry of Physical Planning, have started remarking our houses afresh and are asking for building approvals from us.
“During that inspection, Federal Controller of Works, Olukayode Poopola told them that works would have gone beyond that limit, but slowed down due to evaluation and compensation issues.
“He repeated it about four times before Fashola asked the governor if he was going to provide land for the project and Abiodun consented.
“Afterwards, we have been seeing officials of the State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, coming to start marking our houses again , that is why we said no, ‘we cannot allow them, because if they start marking again, it means that we are going to be served contravention notices for our buildings, structures and houses.’
“That is why we did a mini-rally to bring government’s attention to the alleged take over of the Federal Government’ s role by the Ogun State Government.
“ We have no problem with them, but the important thing is for the Federal Government through the Ministry of Works and Housing to compensate us adequately knowing fully well that, most of the buildings were built when a bag of cement was sold for N500, now it is almost N5, 000, Iron rod of 12 mm, that was sold for N800, is now between N4,000 and N5,000, you can see the astronomical increase of these materials.”
But Director of Federal Highways in South West, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Adedamola Kuti, said the ceding of the compensation process to the Ogun State Government was in response to Land Use Act, which vested all powers on land to the state governors.
“Any time we want to work, we ask the state governments there to give us the right of way for us to work and go. We are not asking for land but a right of way to work.
“ So , it is the responsibility of the state and we have submitted all the relevant things we have promised, we are waiting for the state government.
“If you are looking for any information about land and those residing in the state, you go to the state and not the Federal.
“So, all information resides in the state and the state government will look at the true owners and deal with them.
“ Our own is just to give us the right of way, we are not going to deal with anybody’s land. That is our stance.”
Kuti stressed that the Federal Government used to pay compensations in the past, but the government’s decision now is that the land belongs to the state and any state government that wants the Federal Government to construct road in their domain must give her the right of way , it is as simple as that.
“On the smooth completion, we will continue our work while the thing is being resolved.
“This is not only on Lotto, it is a nationwide thing and some governments are already cooperating. We will continue our work on the main carriage way, pending the time this matter is resolved,” he added.
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