Ogun villagers protest against CCECC, bemoans abandonment of overhead bridge

Residents of Laderin and other villages along the Lagos-Ibadan rail line staged a protest in Abeokuta on Thursday against the contractor handling the project, CCECC.

The protesters, led by the Chairman, Abule-Ake Community Development Association, Alhaji Farouk Akintunde, staged a demonstration at the Ogun State House of Assembly.

Speaking on behalf of the villagers, Akintunde lamented the failure of the contractor to redeem the promise of an overhead bridge across the rail line to connect the villages to the main road and other amenities in the neighbouring town.

He also accused the contractor of being insensitive to their plight regarding the construction, alleging that the rail line had cut off most of the villages from the neighbouring town.

Akintunde said the development had brought hardship to residents of the villages and prevented them from connecting with the main town, adding that it was also affecting other social activities in the area.

He added that the villages were under the threat of being cut off from the main town.

The affected villages are Laderin, Abule Ake and Sidipon, all in the Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of the state.

Addressing the protesters, the Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo, assured them of the government’s commitment to their welfare.

The speaker promised to pass a resolution on the matter at the plenary with the view to ending their plight.

He assured them that the Assembly would liaise with the member representing the area at the House of Representatives.

Oluomo said this was to ensure that the matter would be presented at the House of Representatives since the rail line was a Federal Government project.

He promised to talk to the contractor on what to be done to assist the villagers.

Credit: Punch