A dispute between families in Iyin-Ekiti and community leaders over the alleged resale of ancestral lands earmarked for the Federal University of Technology and Environmental Science, Iyin-Ekiti (FUTES), has been resolved following a meeting at the Odofiyin’s Palace.
The resolution came after members of the Obanla, Oloro and Asaoye families of Oketoro Quarter staged a protest over allegations that their ancestral farmlands at Ijumu Farm Settlement, which they gave up for the university project, were being resold to private developers for hostel construction.
The families had alleged that plots were being sold for as much as N5 million each, while bulldozers had moved onto their farmlands without prior notice, destroying economic trees, including cocoa and kolanut.
However, Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who joined Tuesday’s meeting by telephone, denied that the lands were being sold, explaining that developers were being encouraged to build hostels to accommodate students admitted to the university.
Bamidele said the university was admitting 3,000 students expected to resume on November 2, in addition to 1,500 students already admitted who would be moving into their second year, making additional accommodation necessary.
He said the involvement of private developers was intended to provide housing for the students and not to facilitate the sale of the land.
Bamidele also dismissed allegations against Mrs. Titilayo Oladapo and Mr. Abayomi Ogundipe, popularly known as Agarawu, insisting that they were not selling the lands to individuals.
Speaking after the meeting, the Odofiyin of Iyin-Ekiti, Chief Ayodeji Esan, said the community wanted the matter resolved, stressing that the university was a collective asset.
Esan said no compensation had been paid for the lands, adding that only the government could provide compensation to the affected families.
He said the community had offered the land to the Federal Government for the establishment of the university and must remain committed to ensuring the project succeeded.
The President of the Iyin Development Federal Union (IDFU) Worldwide, Mr. Foluso Adesokan, described the meeting as successful, saying it had underscored the need for proper consultation in matters affecting the community.
Adesokan, a lawyer, said residents should have approached family heads, chiefs and other community leaders to seek clarification before taking their grievances to social media.
He welcomed Bamidele’s intervention and the opportunity for all parties to express their concerns, adding that further consultations would be held on a wider scale.
Adesokan said the establishment of the university and other ongoing developments in Iyin-Ekiti presented opportunities for the community, urging residents to be prepared for the sacrifices that might accompany development.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Araromi Local Council Development Area, Chief Adewale Alade, said the meeting had resolved the concerns surrounding the university project.
Alade said allegations that the lands were being sold to private developers or that members of the committee established by the Oluyin’s Council for the university’s take-off had acquired plots were unfounded.
He urged residents to channel complaints through family heads, community chiefs and relevant government authorities rather than relying on unverified information on social media.
The chairman said the community had also been encouraged to cooperate with those working on the university site to ensure a safe environment and the smooth take-off of the institution.
At the end of the meeting, representatives of the affected families acknowledged that they should have sought further clarification before going public with their complaints.
They said they had acted on information available to them, which they later discovered was untrue.
