Community wants compensation for Ekiti airport project

The host communities that would be affected by Ekiti airport project have pleaded with the state government to pay them compensation. They said that the land being cleared for the project is their only means of livelihood on which several of their farm produce have been planted. The government through the Ministry of Works yesterday  […]

The host communities that would be affected by Ekiti airport project have pleaded with the state government to pay them compensation.
They said that the land being cleared for the project is their only means of livelihood on which several of their farm produce have been planted.
The government through the Ministry of Works yesterday  commenced the clearing of 4,000 hectares of land for the effective take-off of the construction of the airport project.
The site being cleared include Aso-Ayegunle, Ijon, and a part of Afao-Ekiti.
The Secretary of Aso Ayegunle indigenes, Chief Owolabi Solomon, who spoke to newsmen  said inasmuch as the communities were happy about the project, they however pleaded to the government to compensate them for their farm produce that would have to give way for the project.
He said, “We have been informed that the government would use our farmlands for the airport project and we even know the areas that would be affected.
“We are happy the government is bringing this laudable development to us but we are also pleading that the government should, as a matter of urgency, find means of compensating us because the farmlands being taken are our only source of livelihood.” The Commissioner for Works, Mr. Kayode Oso, who supervised the clearing of the site told newsmen that Governor Ayodele  Fayose had set up a planning committee for the project a month ago, adding that the committee had consulted widely with relevant consultancy firms and professionals  on the project and also visited several airports in the country for assessment.