Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi (Middle); flanked by aides, during an on-the-spot assessment of demolition of illegal structures along Okeyinmi Area, Ado-Ekiti... on Wednesday.
Ado- Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital yesterday witnessed another step in infrastructural transformation as the State Government commenced the dualization of Old Garage-Ojumose road with the demolition of structures to pave way for the construction work.
The State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi had on 26th of April paid compensation to owners of affected structures and gave them a 21-day ultimatum to quit the properties so as to pave way for the dual carriageway.
Speaking in Ado Ekiti yesterday during the demolition exercise, the Governor said his administration was committed to transforming the State and make it a model in Nigeria; saying that this informed of the huge construction sites in the State capital and other local government areas of the State.
Dr. Fayemi said that those who called his administration a do-nothing government had mis-construed his administration’s respect for the support of the people in the transformation of the State as non-performance; adding that the need to carry people along in actualising the vision and plan for a new Ado Ekiti was responsible for the delay in the construction work.
He added that his administration places premium attention on the welfare of the people hence the payment of compensation amounting to One hundred and Ninety million, Eight Hundred and Sixty Thousand , Nine Hundred and Twenty Three Naira (N190, 860,923) to them.
“If anyone had described this government as do-nothing, I guess they do not understand the processes involved in ensuring that you take the people along with you even if you have a vision and a plan. That is what we have consistently demonstrated; we wanted to ensure that those affected by the changes that are going to occur are not treated shabbily; we wanted them to be paid adequate compensation for the properties that are bound to be removed for the dualization process and do it in accordance to due process.
“That is what we have done, we have allowed people to complain about issues relating to their compensation. We have allowed others to raise issues concerning the legality or otherwise of what we are doing but I am happy that this has happened. You can see that people are overjoyed by at least clearly that there is a direction and the plan that we put in place clearly stated what we will do in 2012. We didn’t say we were going to finish it in January, we awarded this contract in December 2011 and I am reasonably confident that on or before the end of this year, you would have seen a total change in this area,” Fayemi said.
Residents and owners of affected structures trooped out and hailed the Governor, expressing their joy and satisfaction with the dualization because it had almost become a jinx for previous administrations since the Ayo Fayose-led administration could not complete the dualization before it was ousted in 2006.
While appealing to people to opt for the alternative arrangements made by the State Government as palliatives, the Governor said the Ekiti State that the administration had envisioned may not happen if they could not endure the temporary discomfort that would follow the construction exercise.
Fayemi noted that change is difficult but assured that “there wont be any gain without pain”; saying that before the year ends, the road would have been completed to birth a totally new township.
Structures along Atikankan-First Baptist road would also be demolished as it has started from the popular Bisi market.
Other road projects in the State Capital include Ijigbo-Baptist secondary school-Ilawe road, Ojumose –Fajuyi-Basiri-Police Headquarters road, Fajuyi-Teaching Hospital road and Old Garage-Ikere road which are being rehabilitated and reconstructed as new asphalt is now being laid on Police Headquarters axis of the road.
Last modified: May 24, 2012
