On Wednesday the Nigerian government paid N2.75bn in compensation to property owners who ere affected by construction of the biggest infrastructure in Nigeria.
The minister of works, David Omahi made revelations of this during the stakeholders meeting which happened at the Eko hotel and suites in Lagos, the minister explained that the monetary compensations was for properties that ere destroyed during the construction process from channel 0 to 3 kilometers, these properties were destoyed during the construction of the Lagos Calabar coastal highway, he said ” These are tough decisions, but had to be taken for for economic value, A lot of people doubted that we would not pay, but we let them know that this is the regime of president Bola Tinubu. We initiated a lot of policies and we are witnessing results”
The properties that were destroyed and are to be compensated are Landmark group, Kids club, Maxtivity and Bolaji Areyoh, who has been reported to have the largest infrastructure according to the minister, especially his Miami Chula Lifestyle among others.
According to Areyoh, the sacrifice is a huge one but it will benefit a lot more Nigerians, he then further went on to urge other Nigerians who have been affected to comply with the government and make the construction of the highway smooth.
The federal controller of works in Lagos, Olukorede Kesha stated that the project is here to stay and is no longer in the pipeline ” We are paying for properties demolished on the first kilometer 3 today and those affected will be collecting their cheque and receiving their money in the bank, the minister had earlier promised adequate compensation and this is to clear the doubt that the federal government everything it said” the controller added.
Concerning the Landmark demolition Umahi explained that there is no inhumanity meted on Landmark, He said the shorelines were never legally owned by Landmark and as a result has to be taken back, according to him the compensation is out of mercy to some of the affected people who are illegal occupants of some properties, he noted that some people have taken sides to play politics.
The compensation will be made according to the government’s policy of on compensation, meanwhile the demolition of the Landmark beach resort has raised more more dust that is yet to be settled as some Nigerians see the government’s actions to be inconsiderate and insensitive. According to people the government should have looked for possibilities of re routing the construction of the highway in order to save the beach resort, the resort is considered to be a huge investment which is valued at $200 million dollars and over 400 million Nigerians working and earning a living from the various businesses situated at the beach resort.
Although some Nigerians see this beyond the Landmark resort, the highway is a massive effort by the government to connect two big cities along the country’s southern coast to make it easier for people and goods transit, the project is sensed to make the region better connected , help businesses grow and make transportation smoother.
