The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has announced that 750 houses along the path of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway are set for demolition. This was revealed during a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos on Thursday.
Umahi stated, “If we go by the new alignment, 490 houses would be demolished, also following the gazette alignment, 750 houses would be demolished.”
He emphasized, “There is no change of alignment; we are following the gazetted alignment. There would, however, be realignment at Okun Ajah area of the state by 25 kilometers to avoid damaging submarine cables.”
Despite the assurances, property owners expressed dissatisfaction with the compensation offered, claiming it was insufficient compared to their investments.
Umahi also announced that President Bola Tinubu has been invited to inaugurate the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. He said, “The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been invited to flag off the coastal highway on Sunday, May 26, 2024.”
He added that the coastal highway is expected to boost tourism. “The new corridor is going to have befitting tourism centers and the land is going to be made available by the relevant department of government, and Nigerians would be opportune to leverage that.”
He further explained, “When external funding from outside comes, it is going to reduce our inflation and strengthen the naira. So, the partnership of Federal Government is 30 percent commitment, and we have not exceeded that in terms of the local funding commitment of the Federal Government.”
The new coastal corridor is intended to benefit not only Lagos but also other regions along its 700-kilometer stretch. “This is not just going to be in Lagos alone, but all through the 700 kilometers of the coastal highway,” Umahi noted. “We tend to link this road from Sokoto to Badagry, and another spur that is going to link a road that runs from Enugu, Abakaliki, and Ogoja, down to Cameroon, and that is called the trans-Africa trade route. The Badagry route is also an African trade route linking us to other West African Countries.”
During a Q&A session, ten property owners were compensated, but many expressed frustration over the compensation amounts. They described the payments as inadequate relative to their investments in the properties.
Cajetan Onu, President of Total Energies Staff Cooperative Society and Total Energies Staff Club, stated, “As I speak now, we have a bulldozer on our fence and we started developing our clubhouse four years ago, and we just commissioned it this year. We are not against the project; what we are requesting is more time to recover the equipment we can recover.”
Onu continued, “Our second request is on the evaluation that was done to be on the cost for the compensation. We feel it is grossly inadequate compared to how much investment we put into this property. We beg you to assist us to ensure that we get the right compensation for this property.”
Olanrewaju Ojo, founder of Leisure Games, who received N1.3m in compensation, told The PUNCH, “This is ridiculous! What am I supposed to do with this? I will make this in a week.”
Another property owner, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “For me, the compensation I was given is about 1/6 of what we submitted. Obviously, it is not up to what we invested in this business.”
Paul Osemele also voiced his dissatisfaction, “Nobody is okay with the compensation; the government is given pantries, with the increase in cement. The government is not paying according to market value. In my house, I had about 20 tenants, and I have lost revenue since the whole thing started, as they have all moved out.”
In response, Umahi asserted, “On the issue of compensation, the government is impartial. What we have done for others is what we have done for this place as well.”
Earlier, Umahi had announced N2.75bn in compensation for property owners affected by the demolition for the highway construction, during another stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos.
He said, “To show sympathy for people who voted for Mr. President, we would do everything possible to pay the human face compensation. Today, we are paying over N2bn in compensation just from channel 0 to channel 3.”
Umahi noted that the initial compensation flag-off included ten property owners, directing the rest to the Secretariat of the Compensation Committee for payment.
The Federal Controller of Works for Lagos State, Olukorede Kesha, confirmed that the first ten compensated property owners would be followed by others in due course.
The 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which began construction in March, is set to span nine states with additional spurs leading to Northern States. The government has also formed a committee to review, assess, and compensate affected landowners, ensuring proper and fair compensation is provided.
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