The Aheri Development Council in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State has rejected the proposed Dangote Industrial City in Ilaje-Aheri Kingdom, saying “we won’t be tenants on our land.”
This was the outcome of a meeting convened by the Maporure of Aheriland, Oba Ilesanmi Raphael Ikuemonisan-Mafo, at Zion-Pepe, Ilaje.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ondo State Government, ODSG, and Dangote Industries Limited on the proposed investment in Olókòlá Free Trade Zone, (OKFTZ) and the Dangote Industrial City within the area.
In a statement on Tuesday after the meeting, Secretary of the Council, Ayeoba Ige Asemudara, said that the Aheri kingdom welcomes Dangote’s return and associates with the industrial development agenda of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa within OKFTZ along the Atlantic coast.
However, the council expressed concern over what it described as the exclusion of host communities from the Technical Committee set up by ODSG to collate records and liaise with Dangote and other companies in OKFTZ.
“That as Government acts only through verifiable documentations, it is unacceptable that our land and forests are currently invaded by strangers on the basis of a proposed government acquisition of land with no clear location, dimension, and on the pretext of crops enumeration, data collection and environmental impact assessment of undisclosed projects,”he said
