No fewer than 100 farmers whose farmlands were affected by the construction of the Ekiti Cargo Airport, on Monday, protested at the Governor’s Office in Ado Ekiti over their unpaid compensation.
The placards-carrying farmers, who came from about five affected communities, such as Igbogun, Afao, Araromi Obo, Aso Ayegunle and Igbemo Ekiti, expressed dissatisfaction with the failure of the government to pay the promised compensations.
The spokesman of the aggrieved farmers and the Edemon of Igbemo Ekiti, Chief Awe Ojo, said nothing had been heard from the state government after their meeting with Governor Biodun Oyebanji in June.
Ojo said, “We have it on good authority that after our meeting with the governor in June, nothing has been done so far because some government officials are out to frustrate our efforts to get what rightly belongs to us.
“We know the governor, Biodun Oyebanji, as a promise keeper and for him not to have done as promised means that the story circulating that some fraudulent government officials, who are in charge of disbursing our entitlements, are hiding the files and documents for their selfish interests”.
A farmer, Elder Peter Oso, said about 11 persons among them had died.
“Apart from the dead ones, so many others are on their sickbeds and have no means to settle their bills since their source of livelihood has been destroyed.
“The governor met us in June and we thought our prayers had been answered because he promised us two weeks. Now the two weeks have turned to four months”, he lamented.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Kolawole Ajobiewe, who attended to the protesting farmers, called for calm, promising that the matter was already on the table of the governor.
Ajobiewe said, “Let me address our fathers and mothers to be calm. The governor is aware and I want to assure us all that very soon, there will be news of joy”.
