By Sunday Ani
Investors in the Winhomes Global Services Limited, a real estate development company in Okun Aja, Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to disregard the misleading information that MTN and 2Africa marine cable passed through the gazetted alignment in Okun-Ajah, and prevail on the Minister of Works to go back to the original 2006 alignment during the stakeholders’ meeting.
A letter jointly signed by Dr. Olubokun-Basorun, Femi Adekoya, Dr Arinze Onwumelu and Dr Kimberly Stark, accused the Minister and Controller of Works in Lagos State of illegally deviating from the coastal road alignment and engaging in selective demolition of property of law abiding investors in Winehomes Estate (Chainage 16-18).
Part of the letter read: “We are constrained but compelled to write this open letter to you and bring to your notice an injustice perpetuated by the federal Ministry of Works to our members that invested in Winhomes Estate Okun Ajah, just for being law-abiding citizens.
“WinHomes Global Services Ltd is a real estate development company established to empower investors in Nigeria and those in diaspora to invest in properties and build their dream homes in Nigeria, with over 500 stakeholders living in different parts of the world.
“We remain steadfast in supporting the success of your administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which focuses on economic growth, lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty, and fostering an enabling environment for investment and growth.
“Access to land is a critical component of housing development as it serves as the foundation for creating new housing opportunities for Nigerians in diaspora. Recognising this, they are committed to providing Nigerians (both home and abroad), with access to suitable investment options, enabling them to invest in their dream homes and contribute to the economy and national development in our home country Nigeria.
“Motivated by our commitment to invest in Nigeria, we inspired our fellow Diasporans to do the same. As a result, over 70 percent of subscribers and stakeholders who are Diasporans invested in the WinHomes Investment Scheme Portal, purchasing property for both personal homes and investment purposes, thereby injecting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Nigeria.
“Our goal is to attract over $250 million in repatriated investments. They are law-abiding citizens committed to the development and growth of the Nigerian economy as well as its social and economic development through the creation of job opportunities for over 5,000 Nigerian youths, both skilled and unskilled via this real estate project.
“They embarked on full due diligence and secured all necessary documents. This exercise of due diligence included confirming that the property has the certificate of occupancy issued by the Lagos State Government to the Okun Ajah community, governor’s consent and clearance from the coastal road right of way.
“We were taken aback, when without notice, officials of the Ministry of Works, superintended by David Umahi did the unimaginable by destroying the properties in an isolated attack on the investments, and the sweat of Nigerians in the diaspora without any form of engagement or legal notification. The situation surrounding the demolition of WinHomes Estate is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the conduct of the Ministry of Works.”
They alleged some residents of a certain estate paid a substantial amount to the ministry officials to divert the coastal road, thus avoiding the demolition of their properties which violated the original alignment and diverted into the property of law-abiding citizens of WinHomes estate that has done all their due diligence and has all the documentation issued by Lagos State Government.
“They brought to the Minister’s attention about this and the seven pending legal cases against the Ministry of Works around Okun Ajah.
“Despite this, he remained unresponsive and hired lawyers and SANS that will defend the ministry. To our astonishment on October 5, 2024, the Ministry of Works officials, accompanied by military personnel and Lagos state taskforce officials, stormed our site and demolished WinHomes property, assaulted their personnel on site, confiscated their phones and proceeded to remove essential building materials worth hundreds of millions of Naira claiming they had order from above to do so.
“Why is the Minister insisting that the MTN and 2Africa cables are in Okun-Ajah, whereas evidence abound that the cables are in Mopo-Onibeju Lekki axis, 7km away from Okun Ajah, where our estate is situated?
“Why did the Minister consent to using the 2006 gazette alignment as the right path in a bid to save the cables in his second stakeholders’ meeting and later did otherwise? Is this a case of intimidation for speaking out?” the statement further read.
They described the actions of the Ministry of Works as deeply troubling and called for immediate investigation and accountability by the relevant authorities. “The recent panel setup authorised by the Presidency for the Ministry of environment to investigate the environmental impact assessment of the new diversion by the ministry of works faulted the diversion of the coastal road around Okun Ajah as it did not take into consideration expert opinions and the ecological aspect which could mitigate the community from the current erosion. Furthermore, the panel noted that technical reasons were not given for the diversion of the coastal road into the community.
“As Diaspora organisation, we humbly seek your intervention because the lawbreakers cannot be spared at the expense of law-abiding citizens of Nigeria,” they pleaded