YOU WILL NOT BE DISPLACED FROM YOUR ANCESTRAL HOMES -KWSG

The Kwara State Government has assured Adena communities and environs in Kaiama Local Government Area of the State that the proposed agricultural project in the area will not lead to the loss of their ancestral homes.

The Executive Chairman, Kwara State Geographic Information Service (KWGIS), ESV AbdulKareem Babatunde Sulyman, gave the assurance during the week, when he received representatives of communities from the Adena axis, in his office.

Addressing the visitors, the KWGIS Boss explained that the over 40,000 hectares of land earmarked by the State Government for agricultural development purposes will not negatively impact the daily lives or livelihoods of the host communities.

“This project will bring positive change. The present administration is committed to bringing development and progress to your doorsteps. The agricultural initiative we are embarking upon will be on a large scale and your people will be among the first beneficiaries of this laudable effort, “he reassured.

The Chairman clarified further that the 40,160 hectares of land are designated for the massive cultivation of rice and sugarcane, adding that provisions have been made to ensure communities remain part of the development plan.

“There is no cause for alarm. There will be setbacks for corridor farming and future expansions. Communities within the project area will be incorporated, therefore no settlement will be displaced as a result of this initiative.”

He, however, assured them that, all suggestions harvested from the meeting will be put into writing and forwarded appropriately.

The delegation, which came to seek clarifications on the planned project, was led by the Executive Chairman, Kaiama Local Government Area, Alhaji Abubakar Abdullah Danladi and Emir of Kaiama, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Mu’azu Shehu Omar (Bagidi Kiyaru IV), represented by the Mutawali of Kaiama, Alhaji Mohammed Razak Umar.

In their separate remarks, the duo reiterated the concerns of the people over the matter at stake, stressing the importance of further sensitisation to assure community members that no one will lose his/her farmland or home to the government’s agricultural programme in Adena.

The meeting, which featured open and inclusive discussions, was conducted in English as well as in Boko-baru, Yoruba, and Hausa to ensure everyone present participated fully.

Those in attendance include; the Administrative Secretary, Mr. Maiyaki Madu, Director of Land Services, ESV Mashood Hassan and Acting Surveyor-General of the State, Surveyor Haruna Abdullahi.

Others are the Head of Acquisition, ESV Kawu Sulaiman; Head of Inter-Agency and Strategic Unit, ESV Oladuntoyo Taibat and Head of Litigation, ESV Bamidele Isiaka, among others.

Rowland Olonishuwa, Press Secretary, KWGIS

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