AMBODE AND THE LAGOS ASSETS

The return of federal assets to the Lagos State Government will ensure effective and proper usage, writes Taiwo Ogundipe

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is yet again making another bold move. This time around he is reaching out to the federal government, demanding for the return of all the assets it acquired in the state. These assets, according to the governor, include disused lands, buildings and disputed quarters.

Ambode made the request against the backdrop of receiving the report of the Special Committee on Federal Government Assets in Lagos State which he set up to determine the status and titles of the disused lands, buildings and disputed quarters the federal authorities are still occupying in the state.

The governor had constituted the committee to put an end to the jurisdictional disagreement between the federal and state governments over the assets to which the former still laid claim within the territory of the latter. The committee, which was chaired by former Federal Commissioner for Works, Chief Femi Okunnu, comprised a human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana, a Simmons Cooper partner, Mrs. Victoria Alonge and Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Lands Bureau, Mr. Olabode Agoro, among others.

The governor expressed the hope that the initiative will end the long standing dispute between the federal and state governments over the prime assets located in various parts of the state.

According to the committee, some of the assets in dispute include the dilapidating Federal Secretariat at Ikoyi, the International Trade Fair Complex which had been converted to a sprawling market, the highbrow Banana Island, Osborn Foreshore, Festac Town, Satellite Town and the whole of Ikoyi with boundary at Lagos Canal standing between Ikoyi Island and Lagos Island.

Historically, when the idea was mooted to establish a Federal Capital Territory in Abuja, the government in power then indicated that Lagos would remain the commercial capital of the nation and continue to be treated as a special centre of development, along with Kaduna, Enugu and Port Harcourt. But this has not been the case 40 years down the line. Lagos particularly has suffered neglect since then and this has rubbed off on the assets acquired by the federal authorities.

While submitting the report, Okunnu expressed sadness over the current state of the Federal Secretariat in Lagos and other abandoned assets of the federal government in the state, noting that the assets be returned to the state government for effective and proper usage.

In the past, controversy had dogged the efforts of the federal government to concession some assets in the state. In 2006 the then federal authorities entered into a controversial concession arrangement regarding the Federal Secretariat Complex, Ikoyi with a corporate organisation, Resort International Limited (RIL) to convert the structures to residential quarters. Other assets concessioned under controversial circumstances included Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Tafawa Balewa Square, among others.

The step the Ambode government is now taking has been generally commended. It is seen as a right step to resolve the long- standing dispute between it and the federal government. From the body language and utterances of the state government, the approach is deservingly not confrontational.

Some observers had viewed the past efforts by the previous governments of the state to assert the state’s right of ownership and jurisdiction over the numerous assets as being confrontational. This is far from the case with the Ambode’s approach.

The governor had also recently set a characteristic positive and progressive tone when he graciously offered the assistance of the state government to renovate the main bowl of the National Theatre, two cinema halls, the exhibition lobby and the banquet hall as part of the collaboration between the federal government and the state, during preparations for the Lagos @ 50 celebrations in readiness for the 2017 Africa Movies Academic Awards (AMAA) ceremony holding in Lagos State.

Governor Ambode also made a strong case for and earned the approval of the federal authorities to embark on a total reconstruction of the International Airport Road from Oshodi. The governor had viewed the state of the road as a national embarrassment. He had then said, “In the spirit of the regeneration and urbanisation that this administration has set out to achieve, we believe strongly that the image that is exhumed by the decadence of that road must be repaired.”

The Ambode administration is now going ahead with a design of 10 lanes to come from Oshodi to the International Airport with interchange and flyover that would drop you towards the local airport.

All these are pointer to the fact that Governor Ambode has good intentions regarding the efforts to retrieve state’s assets from the federal authorities. Besides, there is merit in the claim of the state government. Most of these assets have been allowed to lie waste and fall into disuse. This is even poignant in this period of dire national economic situation. The abandonment of the assets is not only a disservice to the state but also to the entire nation.

Lagos, many patriotic citizens of Nigeria generally believe, deserve the support and understanding of the federal authorities. As the governor pointed out, the recovery of the assets from the federal government is strategic to reflating the economy of the state and improving its GDP. In his words, “The state government is in dire need of space for development projects that would improve the socio-economic wellbeing of its residents in line with the socio-economic realities of present times.”

It is tragic to continue the flagrant wastage of valuable assets more so when, as the governor said, “these assets are no longer in use for the purposes for which they were originally released to the federal government.”

It is also pertinent that the governor expressed an understanding that the job of determining the jurisdiction and ownership of the identified assets is an ongoing process.

Many hope that with the resolution of this dispute, the assets can be put to valuable use to shore up the internally generated revenue of the state and thereby boost its economy as well as that of the entire nation.