Fayose suspends Ekiti airport project

fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has ordered an immediate suspension of work on the airport project going on the outskirts of Ado Ekiti, the state capital.

This followed a meeting he held with land owners and farmers who has plantations on the land earmarked for the project at Jibowu Hall of the Governmen

t House on Tuesday.

An oil palm plantation farmer, Tijani Hakeem, was said to have died of shock over destruction of his plantations by bulldozers mobilized to the site.

The Nation gathered on Tuesday that the corpse of Hakeem, who was said to be an Ebira man, has been conveyed to his village in Kogi State for burial.

Following the tension generated by commencement of work on the site without prior notice and compensation, the governor summoned a meeting with the farmers to resolve the problem.

At the meeting which was also attended by officials of the Ministry of Works and Transportation saw Fayose appealing to land owners and farmers for calm, promising to pay them compensation.

governor said his administration has resolved to suspend work on the airport project until December to allow for enumeration of the land owners and farmers to be compensated.

He noted that stoppage of work for now would also give plantation owners and farmers an opportunity to harvest their crops.