Ebira farmers resident and farming at Bolorunduro community in Ado-Ekiti local government area of Ekiti state weekend appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the state governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi to pay them compensation for their crops worth millions of naira destroyed for the construction of an airport in the community.
The Ebira youth leader of Bolorunduro community, Isah Sa’ed, who made the appeal in Lokoja, Sunday at a press conference, said the Ebira farmers in the community were not compensated despite their heaps of yams, cassava, cocoa yam and other cash crops destroyed in the farm for the purpose of the construction of an airport.
Her said:”It has been long that the state government was planning to establish airport in the community but the current administration led by Dr Fayemi last year started making preparation for the airport by fencing the land.
“When the government started fencing the land last year, we asked them what will be the fate of farmers using the land and they told us that there will be no problem and that whenever it is time to commence work on the construction of the airport, the farmers will be given prior notice. We stood by that assurance and started cultivating our portion of the land and we have planted yams, cassava, cocoa yam and even pepper.
“To our dismay, this month, the company handling the project, by name, Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company, rolled out their equipment to the community and started demolishing our houses and destroying the crops we have committed our resource and energy to cultivate.
Sa’ed stated that government released the sum of N500 million for farmer’s compensation but lamented that Ebira farmers were unjustly excluded from the arrangement even when they have lost their farms and crops worth several millions of naira.
“We are not unaware that if government is embarking on such project, the occupants of the land will be compensated and relocated and to that effect, we heard over the radio that the state government has released the sum of N500 million to compensate the affected farmers in the community.”
