The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Mohood Olalekan Balogun, the Alli Okunmade II, has appealed to the Chairman of the Oyo State Housing Corporation, Barrister Bayo Lawal to temper justice with mercy on the illegal encroachment of the Corporation’s land in Ajoda by the residents of the area.
Oba Balogun, who was represented by Aare Mogaji of Ibadanland, Alhaji Asimiyu Adepoju, said many residents of the area cried to the palace, alleging that the corporation is demolishing their property.
Having been convinced by official record that the land in question is within the government acquisition, representative of Olubadan appealed to the corporation to come to the aid of the residents.
Barr. Bayo Lawal debunked series of allegations against the corporation over the demolishing of houses and properties in the area sequel to the land crisis between members of Ayegun Village of Egbeda Local Government and a private company over illegal acquisition of land.
Speaking with the stakeholders during a peace meeting in his office on Thursday, Barrister Bayo Lawal said the recent crisis did not happen under the current administration as the land had been sold to a particular company during the previous administration.
He explained that the lands which were bought by the residents is illegal as many failed to acquire the Certificate of Occupancy of the lands.
“They claimed that Housing Corporation is demolishing houses but the area we are talking about belongs to the government of Oyo State and this particular land had been sold by the previous administration to a particular company and they have the Certificate of Occupancy of the land. This is not the handiwork of government.
“To our surprise, many of the residents failed to present the certificate of occupancy and they already have investments on the land. So this is not the case of this government.” he said.
Furthermore, he appealed to the residents that the current administration in the state is keen to the interest of the people and is willing to look into the matter and ensure there is peace in the community.
Representative of the Olubadan, Aare Mogaji of Ibadanland, Alhaji Asimiyu Adepoju appealed to the State Government to look into the matter as many of the residents have already invested a lot on the land.
He said: “It’s so saddening that many properties have been demolished and the matter have reached the table of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Mohood Olalekan Balogun.
“Olubadan wants peace in Oyo State and in this case, we need the intervention of the State Government because of the agitation of the residents. We believe in the government of today and we want them to know that the land belongs to the people before the government took over the land.”
One of the residents who at the meeting said she was not aware that the land is illegal when she bought it from the Adekanbi Family.
“When I brought the land, I didn’t know it belong to the government but I discovered I was unable to obtain my C of O. But now that we are in a situation, we have to appeal to the government to help us.”
Barr. Lawal used the occasion to appeal to Oyo State residents who intend to acquire landed property to make their investigations before paying their hard-earned money to fake land vendors.