Lekki
Lagos has been at the forefront of infrastructural development in Nigeria and the attainment might not be unconnected to the prominent economic stature of the state.
No doubt, people migrate from their places of origin to anywhere in the world where there is hope for greener pastures. This often exposes any place with prominent economic stature to both environmental and criminal challenges, probably due to overpopulation.
Lagos State is currently in this shoe and the state government is currently doing everything possible to ensure that the safety of life and property remains the priority of the administration.
In this spirit, you could see some members of staff of the Lagos State Ministry of Environment led by the State Commissioner for Environment, Tokunbo Wahab, removing illegal structures including fences, mansions, and shanties in Magodo, Adeniji Adele, Alaba International Market, and other areas of the state to prevent flooding and ensure the safety of the residents and their property.
Recently, Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Oluyinka Olumide, has revealed that 80 percent of buildings in Ibeju Lekki are with no approval, Vanguard Newspaper could report authoritatively.
Olumide disclosed this in an interview with newsmen. He said, “Just last week Thursday and Friday, myself and the team were in the Ibeju Lekki and Epe axis and you would agree with me that anybody passing through that corridor would see a lot of estates marked. We went there, and I can tell you that from what we saw, over 80 percent of them do not have approval.
"The procedure to get approval is first to get the planning information, as to what those areas have been zoned for. In this case, what we have is agricultural land, and people now go to their families to buy agricultural land. Of course, those lands would be sold because those families do not know the use such land would be put to," he stated.
Note:
Lekki has been, in recent times, one of the most decent areas in Lagos with great aesthetics, attractive estates, and big boys who brought themselves suddenly to the field of playing the politics they could never understand.
Even though it is left to each of the estate owners in Lekki to come up with the necessary documents that may prove they have approval for their buildings to challenge the remark made by Dr. Olumide, the world may have to prepare itself for a rousing or ranting moment when residents and owners of the Lekki Estates will accuse Lagos State Government of political witch-hunting recalling that Lekki was a major area in the state where residents did everything possible to launch political threat against the second term reelection of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the state.
Besides, the world may begin to ask itself whether it is enough to right the wrongs with emotion or the state government would be challenged for waiting this far before identifying and coming out to accuse residents of Lekki with allegations of occupying unapproved structures.
While we wait for the next scenario to start unfolding itself, the Lagos State government shall be implored to be up and doing with sincerity and due diligence I'm carrying out the duty of safeguarding the residents of the state.
Knowing fully well that the remark made by Dr. Olumide is a clearcut indication that many buildings standing on the soil of Lekki and Epe will soon go down, what measures has the state government put in place to relieve the stress and challenges this will bring on the innocent residents, who are mostly tenants and amidst the present economic challenges that the country faces?
If we are to go by an instance given by Dr. Olumide that the majority of the parts of Lekki that are currently hosting houses were demarcated portions of land for agricultural purposes, is there a means the state government will come in to assist the landlords in the areas to retrieve their money from the family who sold the land through a chain of sellers?
Knowing fully well that the crime rate within some government agencies is alarming, and has been discouraging many landlords from going through government deals, What do you think the government could do rightly to get more people going through the necessary government agencies before erecting buildings on their pieces of land so, it will be discovered early the purpose for which each portion of land had been set aside?
In your view, is this revelation coming lately from the government response to the 2020 EndSars protest and 2023 political struggles that both had their headquarters in Lekki?
Category: World-News
Tag: 80 per cent of Lekki Buildings May Be Demolished Lagos State Government Vows
Written by Author (author)
Published 5/7/2024 10:34:37 AM