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By Abdullahi Ahmed
The Kwara State Government has presented a cheque of Five Hundred and Sixty-Nine Million, Six Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Nine Hundred and Twenty Naira (₦569,680,920) as compensation to owners of land acquired for the Ilorin Smart City Project.
Beneficiaries of the first phase of the payment include customary landowners, land purchasers, and farmers in the affected areas.
Speaking at the cheque presentation ceremony, the Commissioner for Land, Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Segun Ogunsola, described the exercise as a milestone in the state’s urban renewal agenda.
He said the Smart City would address both the housing deficit and population challenges in Kwara State.
Dr Segun Ogunsola stated that the State Government adopted global best practices in handling the project, stressing that communities whose 19,500 hectares of land were acquired would not be displaced but incorporated as stakeholders in the development.
He disclosed that the new University of Education, the Renewed Hope Housing Scheme, and various recreational facilities would be part of the Smart City.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Kwara State Geographic Information Service (KWA-GIS), Mr. Suleiman Babatunde AbdulKareem, hailed the initiative, noting that the Smart City would be a generational asset for Kwarans.
The Controller, Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Okiemule Joy, urged representatives of the communities to ensure that the compensation reaches the rightful landowners.
Goodwill messages were delivered by the Chairman, Kwara State House of Assembly Committee on Land, Housing and Urban Development, Mallam Abdullahi Halidu Danbaba, the representative of the Emir of Ilorin and Magaji Tanke Iledu, Alhaji Yusuf Kareem Adisa, among others.
Speaking on behalf of the benefiting communities, Dr. Babatunde Saka and Mr. Musa Sidiq expressed gratitude to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, describing the compensation as timely.
They assured that the Smart City project would usher in unprecedented development in their communities.
