No fewer than 142 villages and communities in Ibadan have raised alarm over what they describe as an existential threat posed by the Oyo State government’s plan to acquire additional land for the Ibadan Circular Road corridor project.
The affected settlements, spread across six local government areas — Ido, Lagelu, Oluyole, Egbeda, Ona Ara, and Akinyele — say the proposed expansion would displace thousands of residents and wipe out long-established communities.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat in Iyaganku, Ibadan, the spokesman for the residents, Mr. Oladosu Olutayo, appealed to the state government to adhere to the original 150-metre demarcation for the road project.
Olutayo warned that any attempt to extend the right of way would have devastating effects on livelihoods, ancestral lands, and farmlands that sustain the rural population.
According to figures shared by the communities, 22 villages in Oluyole Local Government Area and three in Egbeda would be directly affected by the planned expansion. In Lagelu, 23 communities are at risk, while Ona Ara could lose 22 villages.
Residents expressed fears that the move could lead to forced evictions without adequate compensation or relocation plans, urging Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration to reconsider the project’s current scope.
They further called on civil society groups, traditional rulers, and lawmakers to intervene and prevent what they termed “a mass extinction of rural heritage” in the name of development.
