Aggrieved landlords and indigenes of the Ijoka area of Ado Ekiti in Ekiti State have protested government’s delay in payment of compensation for their demolished buildings in the state capital.
About 100 buildings that were acquired in over-riding public interest in 2016, were demolished six years ago at the Ijoka axis of Ado Ekiti, close to the central market; to give way for the construction of a car park, now being converted to a bus terminal by the state government.
The expansive area was demolished by the administration of Governor Ayodele Fayose when the construction of the ultra-modern Ado Ekiti Central market commenced.
Mr. Kehinde Adeosun who spoke on behalf of the community, accused the government of foot-dragging in payment of their dues, lamenting that this has rendered many homeless and has brought trauma to property owners in the area.
He said, “The existence of Ijoka Community dated back to 1300. The community, until its demolition in 2016 was the commercial nerve centre of Ado Ekiti where traders made millions of naira daily.
“All other communities and towns acquired after the demolition of our community had received compensation from the state government. A critical example is the land acquired for the construction of the Airport within the state capital and other towns where their owners had received compensations.
“The trauma on our members as a result of this neglect had caused a lot of havoc and psychological distress,” he lamented while he appealed to the state government to pay them their entitlements.
An 80-year old former labour leader, Mr. Isa Isola Bello, disclosed that the community had written a series of letters to Governor Kayode Fayemi and his Deputy, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, but all to no avail.
“We have written a series of letters, which were officially acknowledged but no action was taken. We are all loyal APC members, so, enough is enough,” Bello said, threatening that they will take decisive actions should the government fail to pay them compensation in the next one week.
The Youth Leader of Ijoka, Hon. Olasehinde Omotoso, said it was unfortunate for the government to be spending billions to institute projects in the area while failing to pay compensation due to them .
One of the engineers constructing the bus terminal, Kolawole Bankole, assured that their messages would be taken to the government for proper actions, assuring that the governor has not forgotten them.
