Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has announced the allocation of the 350 newly built stalls at Agodi gate free of charge to traders.
Makinde made the announcement while hosting Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State at the inauguration of junction improvement projects at Agodi Gate, Civic Centre, Idi Ape areas of Ibadan, and flag off of the infrastructure component of the Rashidi Ladoja circular road, on Friday.
Assuring the Agodi Gate traders of immediate allocation, Makinde said the stalls were built towards addressing the trend of street trading in the state.
Decrying street trading and illegal dumping of refuse as uncivil, Makinde said he had instructed relevant government agencies to prosecute defaulters.
He urged the benefiting traders to own the shops and ensure sanity in the axis.
Acknowledging notions that the junction improvement was minimal as a government project, Makinde said the projects targeted reducing manhours.
The Oyo governor also disclosed that government intended to embark on three more junctions improvement at the University of Ibadan, The Polytechnic Ibadan and Eleyele.
Speaking at the flag off of the infrastructure component of the Rashidi Ladoja circular road, Makinde assured of completion of the 32.2 kilometres South East wing of the project in the no distant time, after which the North East wing of the 110kilometres road will commence.
Makinde assured of fortnight monitoring to guarantee speedy completion of the project.
Addressing those occupants of the corridor of the Ibadan circular road project whose properties are to be demolished, Makinde assured them of requisite compensation and relocation.
He explained that the government embarked on the project thinking about a better and sustainable future for the people of Oyo State.
Inaugurating the projects, Governor Chukwuma Soludo lauded the junction improvement and flag off of the infrastructure component of the Rashidi Ladoja circular road as one that is futuristic and takes into cognisance the growing population.
He stressed that governors must always be keen on urban regeneration and guard against a chaotic ghetto in a city.
Though he noted that the government should have planned for the present huge population over 50 years but stated that the second best time to act was now.
Soludo also harped on the importance of law and order as key to sustainable cities.
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