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From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The Ogun State government has disclosed that the Regeneration Programme of the state’s foremost Government Residential Area (GRA) Ibara, Abeokuta, the state capital, is to demolish the decrepit civil servant houses and build modern and befitting housing units.
The Commissioner for Housing, Jamiu Akande Omoniyi, made this disclosure on Monday while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after inspecting some of the decrepit civil servant buildings.
Omoniyi, who was accompanied on the inspection by some top officials in the Housing Ministry, expressed dismay at the dilapidated structures, declaring the readiness of the state government to reinvent and regenerate the Ibara GRA, which according to him was established in the 1970s.
He noted that similar GRAs in other southwestern states have been rebuilt over the years to be congruent with modern housing schemes, saying the regeneration scheme of Ibara GRA would be commenced soon by Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration.
Omoniyi, who further expressed his displeasure that the majority of the civil servant quarters sitting on about 25 hectares of land located in a highbrow area such as Ibara have either been abandoned and sublet by the allottees, said similar schemes in Ijebu Ode, Ota, Ilaro and Sagamu would also be rebuilt.
He pointed out that the regeneration scheme would be done to give real value to the state government and to the residents, noting that the old structures would be demolished to give way to a modern and pristine housing scheme.
“We are here to see the dilapidated level Ibara GRA Civil Servants housing estate has degenerated to. As you can see, it is totally in bad shape. It is unfortunate that successive governments have failed to realize the gold mine this state is sitting on and failed to tap into it. Of all the GRAs in the southwest, that of Ogun State is the worst and one we have not fully taken advantage of. If you visit other GRAs in other states such as Oyo, Ondo and so on, you will see that they have built modern cities out of their own GRAs.
“And to this end, I am happy to inform the people of Ogun State that Governor Dapo Abiodun has graciously approved our proposed GRA Regeneration Programme. He has said on different occasions that we must come up with a lively city that can portray Ogun Standard. Some of these houses here will be brought down very soon. We will plan, replan and come up with something to show that Ogun is ready for business in terms of real estate.
“It is a shame that we have this kind of worn-out civil servant estate still standing. As I said, past governments lacked the boldness and political will to embark on the regeneration programme. But, this time around, we are determined to see this project through. We are extending the same gesture to the GRAs in Ijebu Ode, Sagamu, Ilaro and Ota. Civil servants have lived in this particular estate and paid subsidized rent, but no one has thought of maintenance, and that is the reason it is in this parlous state. We’ve also realized that most of the civil servants who were allocated these houses are not the ones residing there now, they have sublet the houses and even made a profit out of the state government. We have our records, we have conducted our survey and realized the true picture of things here. And that is why we are going ahead with the regeneration programme to reinvent the investment of the state that is being rotten away”, the Commissioner stated.
He, however, said about 232 civil servants residing in the estate will be given consideration in the regeneration programme, urging them to take advantage of mortgages in order to benefit from the affordable housing scheme section of the programme.
Speaking with newsmen earlier during the inspection of a 24-hectare of land handed over by the Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation (OGBC) to the Ministry of Housing, Omoniyi said the land located along Lafenwa-Ayetoro Road, Abeokuta, will be used to construct between 500 and 600 housing units.
He explained that the governor has given his ministry approval to construct another set of affordable housing units christened ‘Prince Court’ on the land, as part of his administration’s housing schemes across the state.
The Commissioner, who disclosed that work will soon start on the project, said squatters on the land had been given a six-month notice to vacate the government-owned land to give way for construction of the housing units.
