Oyo begins verification of property owners for Ibadan Circular Road compensation

By Adejayan Gbenga

The Oyo State Government will on Monday begin the verification of property owners affected by Segment II of the Ibadan Circular Road project ahead of the payment of compensation to eligible claimants.

The exercise will cover properties along the corridor stretching from Badeku Village on the Ife-Ibadan axis to the Moniya-Iseyin Road end. A committee overseeing the process said in a statement issued on Friday.

The committee, headed by the Executive Assistant on Security to Governor Seyi Makinde, retired Commissioner of Police Sunday Odukoya, directed affected property owners to report to the Office of the Executive Assistant on Security at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, with the original copies and five photocopies of all relevant documents.

Meanwhile, property owners can check their names at the Ministry of Lands, the Office of the New Towns and Cities Development Agency on Subuola Road, Agodi GRA, and the Governor’s Office.

Documents required for the exercise include a local government identification letter or residence permit for non-indigenes, survey plan, building or property plan drawings, photographs of the property, land purchase agreement and a sworn affidavit obtained from a court or the Ministry of Justice.

Other requirements are a letter of Power of Attorney issued through the Ministry of Justice for proxy claims, five recent passport photographs of the claimant, National Identification Number (NIN), five recent passport photographs of the guarantor or surety and the guarantor’s means of identification. Claimants must also provide their bank name, account number and telephone number linked to the account for transaction alerts.

The committee also listed a letter of introduction from the landlords’ association and any other document considered necessary by the monitoring team among the requirements for the verification.

However, it warned affected property owners against individuals allegedly posing as government representatives and demanding money to facilitate compensation claims. The committee stressed that the exercise was free and that neither it nor the state government had authorised anyone to collect money from claimants.

“The verification exercise is free, and all that is required is the presentation of the necessary documents and five photocopies of each,” the committee said, urging property owners to disregard anyone requesting payment in exchange for assistance with their documentation.