A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State and former gubernatorial aspirant, Engineer Oyedele Hakeem Alao (Allow Alao), has urged Governor Seyi Makinde to control his insatiable appetite for land acquisition for monetary gains, saying that residents’ hardship is being aggravated.

Alao in a statement by his media office made available to New Telegraph, criticized the governor’s alleged incessant acquisition of both public and private lands for housing estates and shopping malls, stressing that the continued land acquisitions have significantly increased hardship for the people of Oyo State.

According to him, “With your insatiable appetite for acquiring both public and private lands in Oyo State, especially in Ibadan, you will be remembered as the governor who used his office to promote land-grabbing activities in the State. Your conversion of public lands into housing estates without proper justification or consultation shows that you are not only bereft of ideas as a governor but also have ulterior motives aimed at causing more hardship for the people.

“Despite Oyo State covering a total land mass of 28,454 square kilometres (approximately 10,995 square miles) and ranking as the 14th largest state in Nigeria by area, our governor neglects rural development while ensuring housing estates and shopping malls proliferate in urban areas, particularly Ibadan. Even Agodi Garden labelled a ‘green zone,’ is not spared in Makinde’s acquisitions.

“It saddens our hearts that Oyo State currently ranks 26th in WAEC exam performance among the 36 states in Nigeria and has 272,847 out-of-school children. Instead of addressing educational issues, our Governor has chosen to convert the Oyo State Public Library in Dugbe into shopping malls. This suggests that he prioritizes mall construction over our children’s education”.

Alao further stated that it is this same Makinde’s insatiability for acquisition that led to increasing the setback for Ibadan Circular Road from an initial 75 meters under former Governor Rashidi Ladoja to 500 meters under his tenure, adding that this setback will impact over 300,000 residents across six local government areas.

“The situation is dire; schools, gardens, garages, and recreation centres are being converted into housing estates and shopping malls under Seyi Makinde’s administration. Unfortunately, none of these developments benefit the poor masses of Oyo State—only the governor and his cronies profit from these acquisitions.

” We should remind Governor Makinde that previous governors did not sell or acquire the collective heritage of the people for selfish motives. Now that he is the governor, he should remember that posterity will judge him.

Instead of addressing the myriad problems facing the people of Oyo State, you have exacerbated their hardships through unpopular policies, including your insatiable appetite for acquiring both public and private lands”, he said.