APC chieftain protests, laments demolition of properties in Ekiti

By Mike Adebayo, Ado-Ekiti

An entrepreneur and politician, Mr Akinlayo Kolawole has protested the destruction of his gas plant located along new Iyin Road in Ado-Ekiti, by Ekiti State government.

The fence of the gas plant was pulled down on Tuesday afternoon by government officials on the account that it did not obey the required metres expected for setback.

Speaking with Nigerian NewsDirect in Ado-Ekiti, Mr Akinlayo described the action as an abuse of power which he said was condemnable.

According to him, government ought to have given him a prior notice before destroying his property which he said worth over N5 million.

Akinlayo Kolawole, who is also a stalwart of APC explained that before the construction of the building, he contacted the contractor handling the New Iyin Road to demand the metres required for setback and he was told to leave seven metres which he said he did even with the help of the engineer supervising the project.

The entrepreneur said, it was painful that government could damage the  firm which he used his sweat to establish towards providing jobs for youths and boosts economy of the state.

Akinlayo Kolawole said, “If I have been notified, I would have requested for just two days to erect another fence and that would have helped me to salvage some of the items which was totally damaged now.

“Before I started this building, I consulted the appropriate authorities, I got the Cof O and the approval was given by same government which has now turned back to bring it down.

The APC stalwart however called for compensation for the damages.

Some other traders along the route whose shops were also pulled down were seen lamenting the effect of government’s action on their survival especially now that the economy is biting very hard.

Reacting to the development, the State Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Chief Oladiran Adesua said all structures pulled down were those that did not obey the ten metres setback required.

He described the act of flagrant erection of structures on road setbacks as an aberration and eyesore, stressing that such action often hinders development.

Speaking on the allegation that no notice was given, Chief Adesua explained that an advert was aired on the radio for a week and such serves as a notice to those concerned.