Ogun has begun paying N202 billion compensation for properties demolished by Amosun.
The Ogun State government will begin paying compensation to owners of properties demolished by Senator Ibikunle Amosun’s administration in order to expand some road projects across the state.
Governor Dapo Abiodun has already approved that compensation payments begin to alleviate the sufferings of those affected.
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Amosun began massive demolition of properties across the state in order to expand some roads to as many as eight lanes without compensating affected owners.
Furthermore, many of the roads were abandoned midway through the construction process, while others did not take off at all.
Engr. Ade Akinsanya, Commissioner for Works, stated over the weekend that the governor has approved the compensation payment, which will be made in stages.
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Akinsanya stated that the demolitions carried out by Amosun’s administration were unnecessary, and that they ended up exacerbating the current government’s problems.
According to him, the state government is now dealing with billions of dollars in compensation claims, in addition to looking for additional large sums of money to complete the abandoned roads.
He stated that the Abiodun administration inherited a N202 billion road debt from the Amosun administration.
According to the commissioner, the state government has decided to use only necessary and unavoidable demolition in project execution.
He stated that the previous administration had designated some houses for demolition in preparation for the rehabilitation of the Kemta-Somorin road in Abeokuta. He added that the project is nearing completion with no demolition.
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“Our road design and construction is such that we try to avoid demolition. It is actual not necessary to demolish while constructing roads, unless it is actually unavoidable.
“The same thing applies to bridge construction. Most of the bridges constructed by that regime were a waste of resources. For instance, on the entire stretch of the 19kilometers Atan-Lusada-Agbara road has only one bridge. And the length is short,” he claimed.
Governor Abiodun, meanwhile, has been lauded for his intervention in the compensation process.
Mr. Abayomi Olanreway, an Agbado resident who lost many shops to Amosun’s bulldozers, praised Governor Abiodun for his magnanimity.
He chastised the previous administration for subjecting people to unjustified hardship, despite the fact that the road had been closed for more than six years at the time of the demolition.
Olanrewaju, who said he relied on his shops to survive before the demolition, also revealed that their road was better before the bulldozer arrived.
Another resident, Taiwo Adebari, expressed gratitude to the state government, noting that the compensation will help alleviate some of their hardships.
