PROPERTY NEWS

Ogun State Government has described its decision to release some landed properties previously acquired from some communities as the fulfillment of promises to return such assets to original owners.

The communities, numbering seven, are part of the highbrow Obasanjo Hilltop in Abeokuta, the state capital. They include Isa Laderin, Abule Okusan, Ilugun Itolo, Abore, Oya, Araromi Oko and Ikereku,

Director General, Bureau of Lands and Survey, Mr. Gbenga Ogunnoiki, said at a meeting to announce the decision that it was necessary to acknowledge the understanding and the unity of the communities.

He explained that the bureau had completed the surveying of the lands, saying the land would be released through a "village excision" procedure.

Saying the state believed in consultation rather than confrontation, the director general stated that surveyors from the bureau would move from one point to the other in the communities to ensure easy allocation.

The Lisa of Laderin Village, Chief Olu Owoegbe, commended the current administration for having the welfare of the people at heart.

Owoegbe noted that the return of the family lands would give the children of the benefiting communities the opportunity to develop the area in the best way possible.

The representative of Ake Village, Mr. Ola Adelanwa, alleged that the Federal Government had attempted to take the land, saying the state had done well by returning the lands to the communities.

Ogunnoiki appealed to the benefiting communities to cooperate with the surveyors by giving them the opportunity to lay the beacons, demarcating the boundaries of the affected villages.

He added that the bureau would soon issue letters of provisional copies of survey plans while the letters of allocation would be issued thereafter.