Firm faults ex commissioner’s claim on sealed Lagos property

By Lukman Olabiyi

A former Commissioner for Information in Ekiti State, Sir Kayode Otitoju, and his wife, Oladunni, are at loggerheads with a company, Punuka Investment Limited, over ownership of a road setback in Lekki, Lagos.
Otitoju, had petitioned Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, urging him to order the unsealing of his road setback, housing a mechanic workshop in Lekki Phase 1.
He said the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources sealed the place at the instance of the Commissioner, Tokunbo Wahab, and Punuka Investment.
Otitoju’s wife, in a separate petition to the state House of Assembly, also stated that her farm, housing an abattoir in the same location, was sealed.
But Punuka Investment, in a statement by its counsel, Adeyinka Abdulsalam, asked the Otitojus to leave it out in ventilating its grievances with the authorities.
The statement read in part: “The Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency is the statutory body established to manage parks, gardens, open spaces, and recreational grounds in Lagos State under the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency Law 2011.
“In accordance with the law, PUNUKA Investment Limited applied to LASPARK on August 11, 2020, for the adoption of the setback abutting the property.
“After careful consideration, including the company’s 3-D design for a beautification garden and parking facility there (forwarded to LASPARK by letter dated May 10, 2021), LASPARK granted approval to PUNUKA Investment Limited. This was confirmed in their letter of 12 April 2022.”