Demolition: Osun landlords protest unpaid N2bn compensation

Some senior citizens, who are the owners of
buildings demolished by the Governor Rauf
Aregbesola administration for the expansion of
some road projects in Osogbo, on Tuesday,
stormed the House of Assembly to protest the
nonpayment of about N2bn compensation since
2012.

The aged protesters, who had waited patiently
for the Speaker of Osun State House of
Assembly, Mr. Najeem Salam, swiftly blocked
him before he could enter his office.

Armed with placards with various inscriptions,
the protesters who are owners of demolished
buildings at Fakunle, Olaiya, MDS, Old Garage,
Ayetoro and Baba Onisekere area made a
passionate appeal to the Speaker to persuade
Aregbesola to pay them.

The spokesperson for the landlords, Moshood
Oladejo, said the Speaker demonstrated that he
was a caring leader by choosing to address them
on the spot.
They said they had met with the governor on
some occasions and had written to him but he
had not paid them the compensation he
promised.

Oladejo said those whose buildings were
demolished after theirs had already been fully
paid by the same government, wondering what
caused the delay in paying them.
Oladejo, who suggested that the governor could
pay the owners of the 350 buildings demolished
in batches, told the Speaker that 10 of them had
died because of lack of money.
He said majority of the owners of the buildings
were retirees, who depended solely on rents
from the buildings to feed.
Oladejo said, “Our pain was made much more
severe upon the discovery that the governor
started setting those to be affected by the dual
ideation of Odi Olowo.

“His Excellency has duly compensated our
counterparts who fell victims of the same
circumstance and has left us to our fate. The
biting economic situation of the country coupled
with the devastating reality of homelessness
requires an urgent attention and intervention by
your office and the governor.”

The Speaker lauded the peaceful conduct of the
aggrieved landlords but assured them that the
lawmakers would discuss the issue with the
governor.

He also commended the protesters for being
patient with the government and for suggesting
payment in batches which he said should be
okay with the governor.

He asked the leadership of the aggrieved
landlords to come and meet with members of
the House of Assembly on Monday for further
discussion on the issue.