Ido-Osun: Group condemns airport relocation, appointment of new Olojudo

A civil society group, The Osun Masterminds, TOM, has questioned the decision of the Osun State Government to relocate the airport project from Ido-Osun to Ede, the home town of the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke.

The group in its November State of the State Address by its Executive Director, Prof Wasiu Oyedokun-Alli also condemned the state government for forcing a new Olojudo of Ido-Osun, Prince Jokotola Olayinka Tunde.

Newspot had earlier reported that the Osun State Executive Council had approved the appointment of Prince Jokotola Olayinka Tunde as the new Olojudo of Ido-Osun in the Egbedore local government area of the state.

Also, earlier in the week, residents of Ido-Osun community had protested the relocation of the airport from the community.

The residents through their representatives called on the state government to immediately rescind its decision and situate the airport in their community.

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Meanwhile, the Osun State Deputy Governor, Kola Adewusi in a radio current affairs programme on Wednesday said the earlier proposed site of the airport in Ido-Osun was not ideal for an international airport.

Adewusi said the land was not able to contain the runway which is 3.5km long and that a ditch on the site made the citing of the airport impossible.

“On the Airport relocation, we are aware that the Aregbesola Government, according to statements made publicly by people like Kolapo Alimi (who was then Commissioner for Local Governments and is today Commissioner for Information) expended about 3.5 billion of Osun State’s funds on the Airport Project before concessioning to AWOL Limited. We would love to know, was there a probe of the purported 3.5 billion spending, to verify if indeed such amount was spent on a project site that the Adeleke Government has just told us cannot house the Airport? If indeed the site cannot house the project, would it not amount to a waste of the State’s resources, which should normally warrant a probe?

“We are curious to know how the Osun State Government came about the choice of Ede as the host community for their proposed Airport. Was there any form of stakeholder engagement to forestall a crisis that such a decision could lead to? Does the choice of Ede, without proper consultation, not further lend credence to accusations of Nepotism that a lot of stakeholders have earlier accused the Osun State Government of? Where the Government speaks so highly of its ‘Ipade Imole’, would such huge decisions not have made better sense if it was subjected to deliberations at such a community engagement?

“Can the proposed construction of an Airport stand in the face of Economic logic, knowing that Osun does not currently have a high population of air travellers given the obvious economic incapacity of many Osun dwellers? A quick look at the air traffic in the Akure and Ibadan Airports would easily point to the non-viability of an Airport in Osun State. Did we think of this?

“Is the Osun State Government drawing up any scale of preference in its decisions to expend the State’s very scarce resources on projects that will clearly not affect the livelihood of the average Osun dweller immediately? Is there any economic plan in place or we are simply taking decisions off the hat?”

On the issue of the Olojudo of Ido-Osun, Oyedokun-Alli said, “Just while the Airport relocation issue is ongoing, the Government also seems to be playing a dangerous card with the selection process of the Olojudo of Ido-Osun, by attempting to foist warrant Chiefs on the Kingmakers. At a time when the community has lost a critical infrastructure to Ede, the attempts to manipulate the Oludo selection process look like an additional attempt to plunge the peaceful town into crisis. Is anybody in government thinking of the long-term implications of all of these?

“While we await answers to these questions, we implore the Osun State Government to get more committed to careful planning and more responsible policy communication, to avoid crisis in our peaceful state.”