Wale Jagun
-Construction company may embark on palliative work
Following the refusal of the youths of Igbogbo, to allow staff of the HiTech Construction Company, to move away of the construction materials stored beside its yard located opposite A.U.D Primary School, Igbogbo, the company and the youth representatives have met on Wednesday, to dialogue.
At the meeting, where the company was represented by its Site Manager, it was established that the residents of Igbogbo, are agitated because of sufferings they are facing over the abandoned road project which has been on for about seven years.
The youths and the company met outside the Adeboruwa palace.
The HiTech Manager, who first insisted that the company owes the community no explanation to move its properties for use on another site, said that there are many factors that accounted for the stoppage of the construction on Igbogbo – Bola Ahmed Tinubu – Afa – Igbe Laara – Gintin road.
“This is a business and I want you to look at it from the business perspective. In business, you need to move goods; buy and sell to make profit and also deliver service to make profits. Why will a business keep people on site; keep resources on site; why do we do that out of our own free will, it doesn’t make sense?”, he said.
“There are factors in play that I am not at liberty to discuss here. That is for the Lagos State Government, especially the Governor to do. It is not in my place to discuss this in any public forum.
“I do not need your permission to move anything that is not your property. I don’t need your permission to move them. I don’t need to consult with you. It’s HiTech property. If the HiTech are moving out of the site, don’t you think that I would have moved all our things from the main yard that are of more monetary value?”
While accepting that there was problem of information between the company and the community, the construction company’s manager frowned at how his men were stopped from moving the company’s properties to another project site.
“You damaged my vehicle by deflating its tires. You delayed our work at Agric – Isawo.
“Why must I report to you, appointed the contractor, the design consultant and the free flow of information must be from them. There are contractual obligations that need to be followed. Agreed that there is a need to acknowledge and respect the local authority, but HiTech has no obligation to report to you guys”, he added.
He told the youth representatives that he understands the plight of the people and that he was always around to see the situations and based on that, he has been feeding the authority necessary information on what to do, but that she cannot divulge the information.
Dr Adeleke Dankuwo, responding to the HiTech company, explained that residents of Igbogbo, are not happy with the state of the road, adding that the fear that carting away the materials meant for the road implies total abandonment, caused the youths’ reaction on Tuesday.
“We appreciate your explanation, however, members of the community are not happy with the situation of the road and with the evacuation of (construction) materials which have given us hope that the road will be completed, you can understand the frustration and response”, he said.
“For the company to be moving the materials without any prior information. You should also understand that the people are pained by the delay in the project, but we agree that it’s not your fault”.
He assured the company of support from the youths and entire Igbogbo people, going forward, adding that the community will continue to put pressure on the government to ensure that the contractor is back on site to complete the project.
“We want to assure that we are very cooperating as a people and we are eager to see the completion of this project. We are ready to give you whatever support. We know that we have to put pressure on the government and not HiTech”.
The liaison officer between the community and HiTech, Mr Hameed Sholanke, while also emphasizing that the people are not happy over the state of the road, also appealed to the company to allow the palliative work agreed to earlier, to go on.
“We just want to pass the information that we are not happy and I want to tell you that we are not violent people. We just want to communicate our grievances to the government. Be it as it may, what has happened has happened”, he said.
“What was on the ground before the company started removing its construction materials was to look around and see where palliatives can be done on the road, to ease people’s sufferings. Let us return to that, moving forward. That was the agreement that the Kabiyesi and the community had with you”, he said to the company’s representative
Meanwhile, the Igbogbo Youth Congress (IYC), the umbrella body of youths in Igbogbo, that led the protest against the removal of the construction materials, has issued a statement appreciating residents, especially youths, for their quick response to stop the removal of materials.
However, in the statement signed by the IYC President, Comrade Kazeem Ogunmuyiwa, it was established that the group had found out that the materials were actually kept in Igbogbo, by the company for another project.
“We want to express our sincere appreciation for your continued support and cooperation, especially concerning the ongoing situation regarding Hitech’s relocation of construction materials from Igbogbo, to another location”, he said.
“After conducting thorough investigations, we have gathered pertinent information about the issue which we would like to present to you.
“The construction materials that were taken from the site in Igbogbo, were intended for use in another location, and were temporarily stored in our custody due to a necessity to ensure their safety.
“The materials that are meant for Igbogbo, are currently being kept at another location within the Igbogbo vicinity.
“We anticipate that palliative work will take effect in mid-August (Rain August Break), as scheduled”, he said.
While acknowledging the challenges being faced by residents, IYC President called on the youths to remain calm and assured them that their interests will be protected.
“Having established these facts, we kindly implore our dear youths to remain patient while we address this matter. We assure you that we will not be passive about this issue, and will take appropriate actions to ensure a satisfactory resolution”, he said.
“We acknowledge the challenges that each and everyone of us faces on a daily basis, especially regarding the poor state of the roads. Nevertheless, we earnestly plead with everyone to exercise patience while we closely monitor the progress of this project.
“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who joined us this morning to meet with the Hitech officials. Rest assured, we will persistently pursue our cause until our needs are met. Thank you for your unwavering support”, he added.
Builder Sesan Daini, Chairman, Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, responding to our reporter during a WhatsApp chat on the matter, said that the council is engaging the Ministry of Works and the company.
“There is an ongoing discussion with HITECH Management and the Ministry of Works, on it”, he said.
