FG to demolish 200 houses for new Interchange in Ogun

No fewer than 200 houses are to be pulled down for the new Lagos–Ibadan Interchange, being proposed by the Federal Government at Pakuro- Lotto axis of the road in Ogun State.

The project was included because of the volume of traffic on the road, hence the extension of contract to 2021.

Already, buildings within the area have been marked by the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing (FPWH) for proper enumeration and possible compensations.

A representative of the ministry, Olayiwola Komolafe, said the project was set up by the Federal Government to make commuting easy.

Speaking at a meeting with the community last week, Komolafe said, the marking of buildings in the community was necessary to ascertain the number of property that would be affected, noting that it would be easier for the government to compensate residents.

Komolafe said, “Constructing an interchange requires a lot of space and offset from the road and we have started from the Deeper Life area to know how many buildings would be affected.

“When the road was first designed, these developments were not in the design. But when the government discovered that the roads constructed now are too large for people to cross, augmentation and flyovers were introduced.

“The government also knows that it will affect the property of people and the first step is for us to identify the houses that will be affected; take record of the numbers, which will be sent to appropriate quarters for necessary documentations”, he added.

But affected property owners and residents at Ogun-Ori Community, Pakuro Road Mowe, Lotto and its environs in Owode-Ofada local council in Ogun State are against the siting of the project within their domain.

The community wants the Federal Government to relocate the project because of the impact on their property.

The Baale of the community, Chief Kayode Ogunloye, in the meeting said taking part of the community for the interchange project meant taking the heritage of the people.

“Although, we want the government to develop our domain, we don’t want them to scrap off the village. If the government wants to solve a traffic problem, they should construct the Papanlanto to Sagamu Road and traffic will reduce.