Some residents of Bodija Estate have passed a vote of confidence in the leadership of the association and their representation since the bomb blast that occurred in the area 18 months ago.
Representatives of various zones of the Bodija Estate Residents’ Association (BERA) passed a vote of confidence after an emergency meeting on Monday in Ibadan.
The meeting followed a recent announcement by the Oyo State Government of the approval of N4.5 billion for victims of the Jan. 16, 2024, bomb blast in a part of Bodija.
The state government, on Friday, through the Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, said the sum of N4.5 billion had been approved for victims of the bomb blast.
Oyelade also said that the state executive council frowned at the spate of disinformation, half-truths, and mischievous lies being peddled by persons purportedly representing the residents about the role the state government had played in the explosion.
“Council viewed such insinuations as unfair and mischievous and the Government will not be discouraged in taking its time to do what is just for her citizens,” the commissioner said.
However, Dr Adesegun Obajimi, a past president of the association and member of the Board of Trustees, said that the meeting was to re-emphasise the confidence placed in BERA’s executive.
Obajimi said that the purported representative in Oyelade’s press statement “doesn’t appear to be our own president.
“We have our own executive in whom we have absolute confidence and have come here to reinforce that it is unshakable.
“They still continue to be our representatives.”
With the state government’s approval of N4.5 billion, Obajimi underscored the need to carry along the constituted committee so that the victims could know when and how the support fund would be disbursed.
“The earlier the better. We have waited for too long, as we are already enthusiastic hearing about it,” he said.
Also, Deacon Olubodun Oke, Chairman of Association of Residents in Ekiti and Osun axis of Old Bodija, said that the blast affected all the residents of the areas he represented.
“Every time we hold meetings, they all asked what is the government doing. I always assure them that BERA, the apex body of all Bodija residents, is working on it.
“Recently, we heard that some amount has been approved, which we are glad about, and we appreciate the government’s response.
“What the residents are expecting now is the disbursement so that they can put all these things behind them, and the victims are alive, apart from those who unfortunately lost their lives,” he said.
Oke said that lives were lost and property damaged, while several others were written off.
“My house was damaged, and I spent a huge amount to fix it, just like every other person too,” he said.
Oke maintained that residents had absolute confidence in the association’s leadership, as they had been representing them well.
The immediate past chairman of BERA, Mr Folu Bademosi, said his house was directly in front of the epicentre and affected by the blast. He recalled the hardship he had endured since the blast.
Bademosi said that, based on the press statement issued on Friday, there were areas of confusion that the government needed to clear.
He stated that the cenotaph should not be more important than the welfare of the victims of the explosion.
“Whatever it is that they want to give to support us, they should do it in earnest.
“This is something that is over a year and a lot of us have spent millions of naira to fix our houses because we can’t keep paying out of pocket to stay in hotels.
“But many of these residents are still dislocated and are willing to return to their respective places,”Bademosi said.
He urged the government not to revoke anybody’s property but to restore it and make the people return to their respective houses.
Bademosi said that many affected properties were built with the sweat of people who had served Nigeria meritoriously and were to enjoy the fruits of their labour.
He said that the cenotaph should be sited in the open place around the epicentre to commemorate the incident.
“The N4.5 billion that was announced needs to be communicated to us through our leadership and they should tell us the means and ways of disbursing it,” Bademosi said.
“That action is still in the news; it has not been communicated and that should be done so that they can expedite action,” he said.
