Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has announced plans to adopt a 75-metre setback for built-up areas along the Ibadan Circular Road corridor, promising that disbursement of the N6.7 billion compensation earmarked for affected property owners will commence following approval this week.
The governor made the disclosure on Sunday during a media chat on Crossfire Exclusive, a radio programme hosted by Mayor Isaac Brown on Fresh FM.
Makinde said the decision to adopt the 75-metre setback in built-up areas was in response to the concerns raised by residents and property owners affected by the road project.
“For the built-up area along the Circular Road corridor, I know what they want and I will do it. For the built-up area, we will make it 75m setback and it will be gazetted,” the governor said.
He added that the compensation fund of N6.7 billion would be signed for approval during the week, paving the way for payment to commence immediately.
According to him, the disbursement is expected to be completed before the end of October.
The announcement marks a significant development in the ongoing discussions surrounding the Ibadan Circular Road project, particularly the concerns of residents over the extent of the setback and its implications for existing buildings and properties along the corridor.
By pledging to gazette the 75-metre setback in built-up areas, the governor indicated his administration’s readiness to address the concerns of affected property owners while pursuing the infrastructure project.
However, the proposed gazetting and commencement of payments are expected to provide further clarity on the implementation of the revised setback arrangement and the compensation process.
Makinde speaks on Adekanmbi, Adelabu ministerial appointment
In another disclosure during the interview, Makinde said he had recommended former Oyo State Commissioner for Finance, Bimbo Adekanmbi, for a ministerial appointment under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The governor, however, said Tinubu eventually appointed Adebayo Adelabu instead.
Makinde explained that he had approached the President with Adekanmbi as his preferred candidate, expressing confidence in his capacity to serve effectively as a minister.
The disclosure offered an insight into the governor’s involvement in discussions surrounding ministerial appointments and his preference for Adekanmbi, a former member of his administration’s political opposition before his emergence as the governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Oyo State.
The governor also revisited the political alliance involving the five aggrieved Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors, popularly known as the G5, which emerged amid the crisis within the party ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Makinde argued that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, emerged as the major beneficiary of the political arrangement.
Makinde’s latest comments revisited the political calculations behind the alliance and the benefits its members may have derived from their decisions during the period.
He maintained that President Tinubu made most of the ministerial appointments in his administration, suggesting that other members of the G5 did not secure comparable benefits from the alliance.
The G5 bloc, which included Makinde and Wike, played a prominent role in the political realignments that preceded the 2023 presidential election, with the group opposing the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over disagreements surrounding the party’s leadership and power-sharing arrangements.