As Governor ‘Seyi Makinde of Oyo State continues to commission various projects in commemoration of his two years in office, he has however, given his avowed commitment to provide better accommodation for workers of the state-owned Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State, BCOS who were evicted from their official quarters early last month.
The governor, gave the assurance on Friday, during the official flag-off of Chief Lere Adigun G.R.A., Basorun, Ibadan, while reiterating that the new GRA would be fully occupied and functional by 2023
He said: “While we were driving towards here, I thought we were going to drive through the main entrance to this place. But we came in through the BCOS compound.”
“Everyone kept saying the contractor handling this project ….. Actually, it is a partnership. The people in government are used to government-contractor relationship because government is all about giving contracts. But I can tell you that this government is about partnership.”
“So, the partner, I don’t know what your work schedule looks like, that they will give confidence to people wanting to come in here to see what is going on, to come in through the entrance to this Estate are supposed to go in through the entrance of BCOS.”
“Also, I was observing your line drains and an the infrastructure out there. Well, it is still early days but you want to pay attention to quality. It is not enough to say this will be the best GRA in the history of Oyo State or South-West Nigeria. We have to work the talk and we are ready to work with you to ensure that a very high standard is maintained.”
“When we took the decision to take this expanse of land and utilise it, because it has been lying here for years. I used to live in Iwo-Road here and, early days, we came for programme at BCOS, which used to be TSOS then, we passed through this place to go out there and nothing has changed from that 1982 till now. But now, we are modernising Oyo State, changing the landscape and we are driving that through common sense.”
“We are not doing anything extraordinary. We looked at other GRAS and we found out that people are more interested in grabbing the available allocation and start selling it and no meaningful development will occur for several years. But for this new model, we know that people will move in here and start living inside this place within the next 12 – 18 months.”
“We believe that the Estate will be fully occupied and functional before the end of the tenure of this administration in 2023. Well, it is a process.”
“Equally, I want to appeal to the staff of BCOS, especially those who were occupying this old and dilapidated structure. Your Chairman and I have spoken and I want to assure you that none of you will be left on the street.”
“We will not leave any of you on the street and ensure that you have a place to live before they finish up with this building. And if there are some of you who have capacity or who need our assistance, please feel free to come and meet us. You can also acquire in the land and building here.”