Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has said his administration inherited an outstanding debt of N202 billion from Senator Ibikunle Amosun’s government on roads alone.
The state government, however, said it has commenced compensation payment for properties demolished by the past administration to pave way for the expansion of some road projects across the state.
The state Commissioner for Works, Engr. Ade Akinsanya, who made this known over the weekend, said Governor Abiodun has approved the compensation payment, which would be in phases.
Akinsanya noted that the demolition carried out by Amosun’s administration was unnecessary, adding that it ended up compounding the problems being faced by the present government.
According to him, the state government now has billions of compensation claims to contend with in addition to looking for another huge sum of money to complete the abandoned roads.
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The commissioner said the state government has decided on the policy of no demolition in its project execution, except where necessary and unavoidable.
He said the last administration had earmarked some houses for demolition preparatory to the rehabilitation of Kemta-Somorin road in Abeokuta, adding that the project is nearing completion without any demolition carried out.
“Our road design and construction is such that we try to avoid demolition. It is actually not necessary to demolish while constructing roads unless it is actually unavoidable.
“The same thing applies to bridge construction. Most of the bridges constructed by that regime were a waste of resources. For instance, on the entire stretch of the 19 kilometres Atan-Lusada-Agbara road has only one bridge. And the length is short,” he said.
Speaking on the demolition, a resident of Agbado, who lost many shops to the demolition, Abayomi Olanrewaju, commended Governor Abiodun for the compensation.
He berated the last administration for subjecting people to unwarranted hardship, saying the road was abandoned for more than six years after the demolition.
Another resident, Taiwo Adebari, also expressed gratitude to the state government, noting that the compensation would help in alleviating some of the residents’ sufferings.
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