Osun: Landlords of demolished building take protest to House of Assembly

Some elderly people, who are owners of buildings demolished by the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola for the expansion of some road projects in Osogbo, Osun State, on Tuesday protested at the state House of Assembly over the non-payment of about N2bn promised them as compensation since four year ago.
The aged protesters, who had waited patiently for the Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Mr. Najeem Salam, blocked him before he entered into his office.
Carrying placards with various inscriptions, the protesters, whose houses were demolished at Fakunle, Olaiya, MDS, Old Garage, Ayetoro and Baba Onisekere area, pleaded passionately with speaker to persuade Governor Aregbesola to pay them.

     The chairman of the landlords, Moshood Oladejo, who spoke with newsmen during the protest, said the Speaker proved to be a caring leader by choosing to address them on the spot.
They said they had taken several complaints to the governor through different media, but he had failed to pay them the compensation he promised.
Oladejo lamented the neglect, adding that those whose buildings were demolished after theirs had already been fully paid by the same government and wondered what caused the delay in paying his group.
While suggesting that the Governor could pay the owners of the 350 demolished buildings in batches, he lamented to the Speaker that 10 of them had died because of lack of money.

     He pointed out that most of the owners of the buildings were retirees, who solely based their living on rents from the buildings.
Oladejo said, “Our pain was made much more severe upon the discovery that the governor started settling those to be affected by the dualization 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, who commended the peaceful conduct of the aggrieved landlords, assured them that the assembly would present the matter to the governor.
He also lauded them for being patient with the government and for suggesting payment in batches, which he said should be okay with the governor.
Salam then asked the leadership of the aggrieved landlords to bring the issue to members of the House of Assembly on Monday for a further discussion on the issue.