The controversy surrounding the yet to be constructed Ogun State cargo airport seems to be getting messier by the day as the family in which the land the airport is to be built as accused the state government of wrongfully acquiring the land without due process.
This is the state Governor, Dapo Abiodun affirmed that the people of the State that the first phase of the Agro-Cargo Airport at Illisan-Remo in Ikenne Local Government Area of the State would be ready by May, 2022.
The family, Orubo Family of Iperu- Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area, Ogun State said 136.070 hectares being developed for Cargo Airport, noted that the action of the state government utterly breached Section 44 of the Land Use Act and Section 44 (1) (a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, (as amended).
According to a report by the thisdaylive.com, hundreds of family members expressed these concerns at the country home of Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun in Iperu on Friday while peacefully protesting acquisition of their land without compensation.
Led by the head of the family, Alhaji Waidi Alaka, members of the community among whom were elderly men and women besieged the governor’s residence in Iperu as early as 7.00 a.m. and from there, marched to the disputed land carrying placards with various inscriptions.
Among others, some of the inscriptions read thus: “Governor Abiodun please come to our rescue; Our Land Is All We Have Left; Our Support For Government Should Not Be a Curse to Us and ‘Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development Respect Court Judgement.”
The protesting family members, also, exhibited a copy of an Ogun State High Court judgment which they said declared them the rightful owners of the land.
Other members of the family that participated in the protest were Assistant Head of the Family, Mr. Neye Moibi, Family Secretary, Mr. Shobamowo Taiwo and Olumuyiwa Olayinka among others.
Speaking during the protest, Alaka asked the Abiodun administration to comply with the provisions of the Land Use Act, 1979 and the 1999 Constitution.
On this ground, Alaka called on the state government to compensate the family members in line with the Section 44 of the Land Use Act.
While they were not against acquiring their land for the airport, the head of the family said they deserved to be compensated as stipulated in the Act and Constitution.
Alaka, who read a prepared speech at the airport site, alleged that there was an ongoing illegal clearance with caterpillars and stampeding planting of survey pillars on their family land for the cargo airport by the Surveyor General of Ogun State.
He wondered why government desired to take over their land when no notice of revocation had been issued on any portion of the farmland nor was any compensation paid as mandated by Section 44 (1) (a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, (as amended).
He said: “Up to the time of issuing this statement, the Ogun State government under the administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel or any other subsequent administrations of Ogun State never issued, nor served on Orubo family or any of its members any prior notice of revocation of our deemed statutory/customary right of occupancy on any part or portion of our farmland.
The family had sold some portions of the land to three companies namely, Beauty Fair Laboratories Nigeria Limited and Sophisticat Nigeria Limited and another 13.546 (33.473 Acres) to Skin Beauty Limited .
“Also, such notice was not issued on the portions sold to the three companies aforesaid as enacted by statutory law in Section 44 of the Land Use Act nor was any compensation paid as contained in Section 44 (1) (a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, (as amended).”
According to him, Orubo family’s progenitor named Odubiro who was a hunter and prominent leader of Lopere military society migrated from Ile-Ife as a refugee from slave traders and settled in the vast area of land as a hunter and private soldier and he successfully held and defended the eastern boundary of Iperu-Remo during the 19th Century Kutujen War of Iperu-Remo.
Alaka stated that the Orubo family had enjoyed ownership of the statutory and customary rights of occupancy on the farmland for centuries adding that part of the land was sold jointly to Beauty Fair Laboratories Nigeria Limited and Sophisticat Nigeria Limited and another 13.546 (33.473 Acres) to Skin Beauty Limited respectively.
According to him, after the sale of portions of the Orubo farmland to the three companies, the head of Orubo family on May 21, 1999 executed a Certificate of Surrender of a Deemed Right of Occupancy in favour of the companies and same was approved by then Permanent Secretary/Director General Bureau of Lands, Survey and Town Planning.
Besides, he said the family is in possession of the judgement of an Ogun state high court, delivered on October 10, 2011 by Justice N.I Saula in suit NO HCS/123/2002 Ope Osu & others Vs Jonathan Famodu & others confirmed that the land being cleared belonged to Orubo family.
The court had declared that from the totality of the evidence before the court, the plaintiffs proved their entitlement to a deemed land of occupancy over the land Orubo farm being Iperu along Iperu Ilishan road.
Justice Saula in his judgment held that ‘’no glaring evidence of government acquisition of the land in dispute was placed before the court. None of the defendant’s witnesses was able to produce the notice of revocation of the right to the land.”
The family urged governor Abiodun to intervene in the matter and come to their rescue.
Counsel to the family, Mr Babatunde Oshilaja commended members of the family for conducting themselves peacefully even as he advised them to shun any action that could cause a breach of the law.
Meanwhile, The Governor while inspecting the project site, said the project conceived in 2007 had all necessary approvals, including the Environmental Impact Assessment, from Aviation regulatory body, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
“This project had been conceived since 2007 and all necessary approvals were gotten in 2008. All the Environment Impart Assessment, all other regulatory assessment have been met 100 percent.
“All we have to do was to brush them up to ensure they meet current realities. This was not the decision that was taken for any other reason except that which is objective”, he explained.
Giving insight on why his administration decided to execute the project, Governor Abiodun said it was base on the economic development agenda of his administration to have a Cargo Airport that would fully compliment the agro value chain investments and activities in the State.
“When the Senate Committee on Aviation came to visit us, we shared with them the business case for this Airport. We reminded them that the two Airports proposals were not initiated by this administration. I told them that the Committee we set up to look into the two Airports concluded unequivocally that this location remind the best and most viable location for the airport.
According to the Governor, ” the entire cargo value chain is on this corridor. You have Oil Palm, Cashew plantations and Green House in Sagamu and multinational companies around here. This is the centre where items for export are evaluated and approved for export. So with a Cargo Airport here, it is very convenient to move them”.
He disclosed that the State bidded for the African Development Bank’s Special Processing Zone, where in the bid document, the location was chosen to co- locate the AZ Processing Zone.
He said the area was renamed “an airport city”, because, apart from the airport and processing zone, the area has factories that would turn raw materials to finished goods for export.
The Governor opined that it was important for an airport to have access to good road network, adding that the airport was bound by Sagamu- Benin and Lagos-Ibadan expressways, as well as gas pipelines parallel to the expressways.
Governor Abiodun maintained that the airport sited on a 500 hectares of land was also part of the administration’s key enablar, adding that work was ongoing on the 2.4 kilometers access road to enable movement of equipment to the site, as well as on the 3.4 kilometers runway.
While insisting that his administration would not join issues with people in the pages of newspaper as a result of the project, said he would remain focus on what his administration was set to achieve by meeting all the requirements of good governance.
The Governor who gave the assurance while inspecting the project site, said the project conceived in 2007 had all necessary approvals, including the Environmental Impact Assessment, from Aviation regulatory body, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
“This project had been conceived since 2007 and all necessary approvals were gotten in 2008. All the Environment Impart Assessment, all other regulatory assessment have been met 100 percent.
“All we have to do was to brush them up to ensure they meet current realities. This was not the decision that was taken for any other reason except that which is objective”, he explained.
Giving insight on why his administration decided to execute the project, Governor Abiodun said it was base on the economic development agenda of his administration to have a Cargo Airport that would fully compliment the agro value chain investments and activities in the State.
“When the Senate Committee on Aviation came to visit us, we shared with them the business case for this Airport. We reminded them that the two Airports proposals were not initiated by this administration. I told them that the Committee we set up to look into the two Airports concluded unequivocally that this location remind the best and most viable location for the airport.
According to the Governor, ” the entire cargo value chain is on this corridor. You have Oil Palm, Cashew plantations and Green House in Sagamu and multinational companies around here. This is the centre where items for export are evaluated and approved for export. So with a Cargo Airport here, it is very convenient to move them”.
He disclosed that the State bidded for the African Development Bank’s Special Processing Zone, where in the bid document, the location was chosen to co- locate the AZ Processing Zone. He said the area was renamed “an airport city”, because, apart from the airport and processing zone, the area has factories that would turn raw materials to finished goods for export.
The Governor opined that it was important for an airport to have access to good road network, adding that the airport was bound by Sagamu- Benin and Lagos-Ibadan expressways, as well as gas pipelines parallel to the expressways.
Governor Abiodun maintained that the airport sited on a 500 hectares of land was also part of the administration’s key enablar, adding that work was ongoing on the 2.4 kilometers access road to enable movement of equipment to the site, as well as on the 3.4 kilometers runway.
While insisting that his administration would not join issues with people in the pages of newspaper as a result of the project, said he would remain focus on what his administration was set to achieve by meeting all the requirements of good governance.
