By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
In compliance with the Federal Government’s directive, the Kwara State Government has demolished illegal structures at Unity Road, Ilorin, the State capital.
The exercise was to ensure that government offices and schools do not have commercial ventures in front of them to guarantee the safety of lives and property in the face of insecurity in the nation.
The Executive Chairman, Kwara State Geographic Information Service, ESV. Abdulkareem Babatunde Sulyman, explained that the affected structures were on the road setback of the State Fire Service Office and the Amusement Park.
The Executive Chairman, who was represented by the Director, Physical Planning Authority and Development Control, TPL. Sunday Idowu, disclosed that the exercise was a federal directive to all the 36 states of the federation.
The Executive Chairman, who affirmed that the directive was long overdue, but due to the magnanimity of the state government, the exercise was put on hold till now.
He maintained that several removal notices had been served on the shop owners in accordance with the seven days notice in the extant laws of the Certificate of Temporary Occupancy, adding that the state government had been magnanimous with the shop owners for long.
ESV. Sulyman, therefore, appealed to the public to desist from building on the road setbacks because it is unreliable for livelihood, adding that the exercise would continue in other places, too.
The Head of the Patrol Unit of the Agency, TPL. Abdulkareem Moshood stated that all the demolished structures were illegal in the face of the law as affected traffic flow in the area.
He added that there was contravention on the road setback, and several shop owners have protruded to the walkway, advising the general public to contact relevant government offices before embarking on any development on the land.
On her own part, the Treasurer of Shop Owners at Unity Road, Mrs. Moshood Tunrayo Onipede appealed to the state government to consider resettling and compensating them, adding that the area has created employment opportunities for many unemployed youths who were hitherto roaming the streets without jobs.
Mr. Sheriff Ajenifuja, another shop owner, also pleaded with the state government to improve on the sensitisation programmes on the need for people to refrain from building on setbacks, adding that, the demolition exercise would have been averted if the government had mobilised personnel to the site a week before to allow shop owners to remove their property.