KEY POINTS
- Finally, the Governor Makinde reverses the new policy of 500-meter buffer zone back to the traditional 150 metre buffer zone.
- There will be no other demolition exercise conducted beyond 150 meters from the Ibadan Circular Road.
- The project’s goal is to spur employment and bring industries to the area without compromising residents’ safety.
Oyo State, Governor Seyi Makinde has also reversed the demolition decision concerning Ibadan Circular Road Corridor and has informed residents of six LGAs that the government will reinstate the 150-meter setback as provided by the previous Governor, Mr. Lam Adesina.
This decision comes after protests over 500-meter setback which would lead to massive demolitions. People had protested for four days at the Governor’s Office to ask for the shifting back of the increased setback to avoid more demolishments.
Speaking to the protesters on Monday, Governor Seyi Makinde encouraged them for their displays of peace during their protest and assured them that government will not further the demolitions or mark properties beyond the 150 meters set.
Makinde clears up that the setback changes
Governor Makinde explained that the late Governor Akinyemi Lam Adesina started the Ibadan Circular Road construction with a 75-meter setback on each side, making it 150 meters in total.
But subsequent regimes like Rahidi Ladoja and the late Senator Abiola Ajimobi widened the setbacks to 500 meters something his administration also followed at first.
When those residents stopped him to address the issue, Makinde informed the public that the project would follow the initial plan of 150-meter.
He thanked the community for supporting his re-election bid and clarified that his administration will remain committed to the welfare of the people thus discouraging politicization of the issue.
“I want to thank you for your peaceful demonstration, this is your government. I don’t have a godfather; I have God the Father and you, Makinde said.
Circular road project of the future
The governor separately appealed to residents not to embark on construction of any form of building within this area without planning and asked government and people of the state to work together.
According to Vanguard, He stressed that is their intention to use the Circular Road project as a way of providing employment opportunities as well as to woo industries to the state but advised that anyone who wants to engage in land grabbing in the state will face the law.
The governor also promised residents that no houses in densely populated areas of the corridor would be knocked down.“Where there is a population, as it were, in the corridor, then we will implement it,” he said.
Finally, he emphasized that the law would be enforced while considering the needs of society and its people.
