Akiolu Faults Eko Atlantic City Project, Threatens Court Action
Condemns illegal activities of land grabbers, dredgers
Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu I yesterday faulted the Eko Atlantic City project, which he said was conceived and executed in a way that landowners did not benefit from the multi-billion dollar real estate project.
The monarch said he would sue the Lagos State Government if such injustice that occurred in the conception and execution of the Eko Atlantic City should occur again in the development of future projects in the state.
He specifically issued the threat at a stakeholders’ meeting on the environmental effects of land dredging and grabbing, noting that the era of impunity on Lagos lands and offshore would no longer be acceptable.
The meeting, which was superintended by the state Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Mr. Adebowale Akinsanya, was attended by the stakeholders in the dredging industry, traditional rulers and officers of Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA).
Conceived under the administration of former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu to solve the challenge of ocean surge on Victoria Island, Eko Atlantic City is privately funded by South Energyx Nigeria, the developers and city planners and a subsidiary of Chagoury Group of Companies.
Though the developers are working with the state government to deliver the project, the city is situated on 10 million square metres, which real estate analysts described as the world’s fastestgrowing megacity and widely recognised as one of the world’s last emerging growth markets.
Currently, land prices in this exclusive enclave are now $1,800 per square metre for inner city plots while plots located along the road and waterfront are significantly between $2,500 and $3,000 per square metre.
But at the stakeholders’ meeting yesterday, Akiolu vowed to sue the state government if the injustice meted on landowners in the development of the multi-billion dollar Eko Atlantic City project repeated itself again.
Concerned about the project planners excluding the land owners, the monarch said he “will always say the truth and would not mind whose ox is gored. There was serious injustice against landowners in the development of the project.
“If such injustice that occurred during the Eko Atlantic City should occur again in the development of future projects of such magnitude, l will go to court to challenge the government.”
He said he was displeased with what the Lagos State Government did at the Eko Atlantic City, noting that landowners “did not benefit from the project. The state government must learn to carry the host community along in developing projects of such magnitude that involved multi-national.
The monarch explained that even in places like Holland, the interest of land owners was always taken into consideration, emphasising that what the state government did was simply unfair and unjust to the land owners.
He said whatever considerations the government and land owners “will give to multinationals on land matters must also be informed by the interest of the resident communities and land owners. The deeds of the state government at Eko Atlantic City will never repeat itself again.”
On the illegal dredging, the monarch lashed out on illegal activities of land grabbers and dredgers in the State, threatening that perpetrators “are now liable to jail terms, Their activities have been reported to the state government and authorities at the federal level for proper punishment.”
He said though the lands and water resources “are traditional rights of the inhabitants and the Obas and chief can derive benefits from the God given resources. They should go to the appropriate authorities and learn how to do it.
Akinsanya said having reviewed the activities of dredgers in the State, the government has decided to suspend all dredging, put on hold all issuance of licenses till all new conditions and registration are met.