By Desire Emmanuel
Residents of communities along the 110-kilometre Ibadan Circular Road corridor have threatened a peaceful protest should the state government fail to address their grievances over its alleged land grabbing
The aggrieved residents, under the aegis of the Ibadan Circular Road Communities Forum, made their position known on Thursday at a press conference held at the NUJ Press Centre.
The Convener, Adeniyi Fasoye, and Secretary, Isiaq Jimoh, alleged that the state government unilaterally expanded the project’s Right of Way (RoW) from 75 metres to 500 metres on both sides.
They described the new expansion as illegal, anti-people and unconstitutional, saying there was no public hearing to that effect.
The forum also said it lacked a fresh gazette and compensation procedure.
According to the forum, the original 75-metre corridor, comprising a 30-metre road path and 45-metre setback, was legally gazetted under former Governor Rashidi Ladoja, and continued under the late Abiola Ajimobi.
They said that several residents were enumerated and partially compensated during previous administrations, but ₦80 million remained as outstanding to those affected by the initial acquisition.
The aggrieved residents alleged that portions of the newly expanded 1,000-metre corridor were being allocated to private real estate developers, suggesting a commercial motive behind the government’s action.
They rejected claims that they encroached on government-acquired land, insisting their properties were legitimately owned and developed before the current administration’s expansion attempt.
Over 200 affected communities are located across six Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Ibadan: Ido, Lagelu, Oluyole, Ona-Ara, Akinyele and Egbeda.
The group, however, threatened to stage a mega peaceful protest across the six affected LGAs if the state government failed to respond promptly to their demands.
