BY ABIODUN NEJO
Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has directed that all subscribers with proof of payment for shops in the Ultra-modern Oja Oba Market, Ado-Ekiti, should be refunded.
This followed discovery upon inspection of facilities at the market that the complex is not ready for use.
The market project, which construction is ongoing, was begun by the former governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, who had made some traders subscribed for some shops.
A statement by Yinka Oyebode, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, said a structural evaluation of the complex shows that some considerable construction work would be required to fix the inherent structural defects which have made the building unsafe for use.
“As this process would take some time, the Governor has therefore directed that the process of allocation of shops be stopped immediately,” Oyebode added, continuing: “The Ministries of Works and Commerce are to work out a seamless process for the refund.”
But spokesman for former Governor Fayose, Lere Olayinka, faulted Fayemi, saying the decision would plunge the state into perpetual debt.
Olayinka, in a statement entitled “On Allocation of Oja Oba Market, Ado Ekiti: Fact Governor Kayode Fayemi Must Know,” stated that “the penalty for revocation is payment of annual rental value for 50 years plus refund of cost of purchase.
“That is, if rent on one shop is say N200,000 per year, N10 million plus cost of purchase will be paid”.
“Even developers allocate buildings before they are built not to talk about a market that is almost completed,” Olayinka said.
