…Say they lost ancestors’ graves, inheritance, businesses worth billions …’Compensation not sure’ …FG denies realignment claim …Ogun govt washes hands off exercise By Nnamdi Ojiego More than 300 houses in Atan-Ota in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State were destroyed after residents allegedly acted on setback markings that were later altered for the Badagry-Sokoto Superhighway project. Affected residents told Sunday Vanguard they removed roofs, doors, windows and other valuable building materials after officials marked their properties for demolition, only to discover later that some of the buildings they had dismantled were no longer within the construction corridor, while other structures previously untouched became affected. The Federal Ministry of Works, however, rejected the allegation, insisting that the highway alignment has remained unchanged from the outset.
The ministry also disclosed that compensation for affected property owners could commence before the end of the month, while Ogun State government maintained that compensation is the responsibility of the Federal Government because the road is a federal project. A visit by Sunday Vanguard to Atan-Ota revealed rows of half-demolished buildings stretching along the proposed highway corridor. Some houses stand without roofs, while others have broken walls and empty window frames after owners hurriedly stripped them of valuable materials.
In many compounds, stacks of roofing sheets, doors and iron rods remain neatly piled, waiting for compensation that has yet to arriveResidents insist they are not opposed to the Federal Government’s ambitious highway project, one of four Legacy Projects expected to transform transportation and trade across the country. Their grievance, they say, is with what they describe as conflicting setback measurements that left many families counting losses in billions of Naira they believe could have been avoided. “We supported the project from the beginning,” a community leader told Sunday Vanguard.
“Nobody here said government should not build the road. What pains us is that many people destroyed their own houses because they believed what government officials told them. Today, some of those buildings are no longer even within the area they say they need.” How the ordeal began Residents said officials of the Federal Ministry of Works and contractors handling t…
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