Okun Ajah Indigenes Refutes Acting Baale & Secretary’s Claim Of Saving 2000 Houses In Letter of Appreciation To Federal Govt

Posted on July 10, 2024

MICHAEL AKINOLA

Indigenes and residents of Okun Ajah in the Eti Osa Local Government area of Lagos State have urgently called upon both the Federal Government and the Lagos State Government to conduct a thorough investigation into the alleged sale of the coastal road alignment land to property owners along the road.

They also have vehemently refuted claims suggesting that 2000 were preserved by the Federal Government through the rerouting of the road, asserting that the actual number of houses in the vicinity falls significantly short of the stated figure.

The inhabitants have squarely placed the blame for the current turmoil surrounding the Lagos-Calabar highway at the Okun Ajah corridor on unscrupulous land grabbers, who illicitly sold parcels of land on the coastal to members of the public while they were aware that the coastal road got to that point.

This outcry from the residents was prompted by an alleged “Appreciation Letter” purportedly penned by the acting Baale of the town, Sikiru Olukosi, who they accused of colluding with law breakers to erect structures on the coastal road alignment.

They accused the land vendors of willfully disregarding the laws of the land and are now scrambling to obstruct the original road plan.

The residents of Lagos are demanding stricter penalties and sanctions to be imposed on the culprits, while urging the Federal Government to adhere to the 2006 Coastal road alignment as a deterrent against future flouting of government directives.

In response to the letter, the Akogun of Okun Ajah, Saheed Olukosi, informed the media that, “It is a grand conspiracy perpetuated by the Baale of Okun Ajah and the Secretary, Kamoru Ogidan, with the Igbo landlords that they sold the coastal roads to”.

“The number of residences affected by the Coastal road alignment is less than one hundred, and numerous houses will be impacted by the rerouting of the road.”

He added, “Their actions are purely mischievous. They are violators of the law and are attempting to deceive the government. It is an undeniable truth that they constructed their houses on the Coastal road alignment, fully aware of the implications”.

“What they seek to achieve now is to mislead the government into demolishing the homes of those who complied with the law and they are the same people that sold the land to the owners.”

Noibi Otolowo ,the Youth leader of Okun Ajah, also debunked the claim that about two thousand houses will be saved if the road is rerouted, describing it as a ploy by law breakers to evade punishment. He therefore, called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Honourable Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, to maintain the gazetted route.

He said, “All these problems are needless. Already, there has been an alignment since 2006, which many of us adhered to. Some people disregarded the law and now they are trying to manipulate the law of the land . This must not be allowed in anyway”.

“One of their antics is to inflate the number of houses that will be affected. Where is the number of houses that they are quoting? Hundreds of houses will be affected if the road is rerouted. They are not saying anything about that.”

He wondered, “How can they leave the law breakers and decide to demolish the houses of those of us, who maintained the law. The government should not listen to any excuse. They built on the Coastal road alignment and they should be ready to face the consequences”.

Otolowo also denied the claim that the Marine Cable is on the Coastal route. He said, “Marine Cable is at Mopo 2, which is far from the Coastal route in Okun Ajah. The government should do the normal thing to discourage lawlessness”.

Alhaji Kareem Aregbesola also called on the Federal Government to do the right thing and save the community from the unnecessary drama, which has been associated with the Coastal road in the Okun Ajah community. He also advised that the government should not set a bad precedence with how they handle the matter.

He said, “The government should know that whatever they do today will determinate a lot of things in the future. They should not set a precedence that will embolden people to flagrantly abuse the law of the land. Where are the two thousand houses on the Coastal road alignment that they are talking about? The government should go ahead with the road on the gazetted route and punish the offenders, who defied the rule of law”.

“There are no Marine Cables on the gazetted route. MTN even pleaded with the Minister of Works to adhere to the gazetted route. They know that their cables are not on the route.”

The Lagos community has been divided over the construction of the Lagos – Calabar Coastal road following the decision of the Federal Ministry of Works to reroute the road in some parts of the town following the construction of houses on the route.

While those who built on the Coastal road alignment are in support of the diversion, hundreds of others, who built outside of the road are insisting that the law must prevail and that they should not be sacrificed for law breakers.