EkIti State Government has reassured affected landowners of fair play as it plans to acquire land along the newly constructed ring road for investors and multinationals who have shown interests in developing the state .
Some communities and landowners around Are EkIti,Araromi Obo,Afao Ekiti,Iworoko EkIti , lgbogun and other communities were at loggerhead with government over a portion of land earmarked for acquisition and consequent development for industrialization and urban drive .
According to the Director of Press ,Office of the Deputy , Tope Ariyo ,EkIti State Deputy Governor ,Chief Mrs Monisade Afuye assured the landowners of government “s disposition to fairplay at Are EkIti during a meeting in furtherance of the state government bid to broker peace between the affected communities, the landowners and the state government.
The. Deputy Governor who paid a visit to the area in company of top government functionaries ,allayed the fear of the landowners against forceful hijack of their properties noting that government would employ democratic mechanisms in its bid to develop the state and would not forcefully acquire any property without reaching agreement with the affected stakeholders.
Afuye enjoined the people to join hands with government to develop the state stating that the construction of the first phase of the ring road project had attracted a myriad of investors who had shown interest in developing the axis as a frontier for the urbanisation programme of the government.
“”This consultation is a continuous one. We shall keep embracing dialogue and democratic mechanisms. We are not a despotic government that hijack properties forcefully . Even after reaching any agreement with you ,we won’t give you peanuts that do not commensurate with the value of your properties . We will probably compensate with something higher…”
“Oyebanji is your Governor. He wants to undertake policies that would benefit us all….and we shall not do that at the detriment of your well beings. But we must be ready to cooperate with the government in order to achieve its aims . In the end ,we shall all laugh when the gains arrive.
Earlier, the Special Adviser on Land to the State Governor,Prof James Olaleye had given assurance that government would approach the land acquisition with utmost civility.
He explained that the area had become a cynosure for investors and businesses tycoons who were interested in investing in the state assuring that the landowners would benefit immensely from the proposed acquisition which he said would be pursued with their interests at heart.
However, Mrs Cecilia Olufemi , one of the landowners,advocated the relocation of those affected, arguing that no amount of financial compensation might be sufficient to enable them purchase alternative plots of land, considering the prevailing economic situation and the scarcity of available land in communities close to the state capital.
Also, Mr Osho Olorunfemi who praised the government for its civility said lands were forcefully hijacked from landowners in the past without any form of interface or dialogue adding that his co landowners like him had invested fortunes on their land with a charge to the government to shift some grounds in the negotiation in the interest of peace.
The Alare of Are Kingdom , Oba Boluwade Adebiyi noted that the meeting had provided a huge insight into the programmes of the government and had also reduced the existing tensions among the affected landowners .
He implored government to continue engaging the communities in further dialogue with the hope of a resolution to the conflict as soon as possible.