By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, has responded to the ongoing protests by the residents affected by the proposed 500-metre corridor of the Ibadan Circular Road project.
Makinde stated that he would only engage with the legal owners of the land at the Circular Road, not with politically-motivated individuals.
The governor said this at the inauguration of the Ibadan Central Bus Terminal at Iwo Road, on Wednesday, November 12, which had former President Olusegun Obasanjo, chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and others in attendance.
Makinde added that the Ibadan Circular Road project had been ongoing for many decades, and the plan to extend the land was for economic purposes and not personal.
He alleged that the protest could not have entered its third day if the protesters were not getting funds from somewhere.
The governor maintained that he would not address the protesters at the scene of the protest, insisting that those protesting are not the real owners but are being sponsored.
“We know that there are some people giving them money; there are people sponsoring them. But let me say this, I will not talk to you at the Secretariat or anywhere else.
“I am coming to that Circular Road Corridor to engage with the real people in the area,” he said.
On the allegations of land grabbing and other accusations against him by the protesters, Makinde challenged his critics and anyone with evidence that he is a beneficiary of the land extension for the Circular Road project to come forward.
He said: “If I leave office in 18 months’ time and you see my name on any land acquired by the government, please call me out publicly.”
Recall that Impact Nigeria Newspaper reported that thousands of residents grounded movement along major roads in the city on Monday, November 10, as they protested against alleged plans by the state government to acquire more land for the Ibadan Circular Road corridor.
The protesters, who are from Ido, Lagelu, Ona Ara, Akinyele, Oluyole, and Egbeda, blocked access in and out of the Iwo Road area at the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway junction, as well as the entrance to the Agodi government secretariat, bearing placards.
The protesters daily assembled and laid siege to the Secretariat gate for three consecutive days, refusing all persuasion and insisting on being addressed only by the governor, with a vow not to stop the protest until the governor attended to them in person.
The Ibadan Circular Road was conceived when the current Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rasidi Adewolu Ladoja, was the governor of the state between 2003 and 2007, and had marked 150 metres for the construction of the road.
However, Governor Makinde is planning to extend the project by 500 metres for the circular road corridor, which the protesters said will affect more houses and community lands, demanding that the state government maintain the 150 metres already marked by Ladoja.
