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By Sunday Ani
Concerned residents of Jakande Estate, Mile 2, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, Lagos, have raised the alarm over alleged moves by the Lagos Building Investment Corporation (LBIC) to illegally erect additional blocks of flats within the estate.
The residents also accused the agency of plans to demolish the existing perimeter fence and push it inside so as to establish a truck park along the Badagry road end of the estate.
A Save-Our-Soul letter addressed to the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu , yesterday, called his attention to what the residents referred to as malfeasance, malignant and savagery conduct of the LBIC management.
According to the petition, which was jointly signed by Mr Fasiu Olawale Tijani and Samuel Ajeyori, on Tuesday, March 2, residents scampered for safety when armed mobile policemen invaded the estate to place a seven-day quit notice on some structures within the estate.
Addressing journalists at the estate yesterday, Mr. Tijani, said when he accosted the policemen, they told him that they were acting on the orders by the LBIC and that the marked structures including a mosque, would be demolished to pave way for the construction of additional blocks of flats as well as construction of a garage for the container bearing trucks.
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They alleged that the LBIC in collaboration with some truck owners had already engaged a private firm to construct the garage and additional blocks of flat from the Durbar road end of the estate up to the intersection at Apapa/Oshodi/Badagry expressway.
The residents are, therefore, appealing to Me Sanwo-Olu to look into the development and save them from LBIC’s harassment and intimidation: “We know that Governor Sanwo-Olu will not be part of this illegality. Although, we have submitted our petition to his office, we are yet to get his response. We urge him not to allow anyone dent his image and the good works his government is doing in the State,” they stated.
They want the governor to know that the area where the proposed new buildings and truck park are to be sited has wide sewage/underground storm water canal which carries the residents’ waste to Maza-maza canal buried in it.
Other reasons for opposing the move include the fact that the axis the LBIC want to erect the buildings and the truck park is currently the location where drinking water pipe that serves the entire housing estate passed through and that building a truck park within the estate would make the residents’ lives miserable as its closeness will affect the buildings and entrances into the estate.
They equally argued that such construction would flout the 4.5 metre drainage setback stipulated by the enabling law as well as distort the master plan by late ex-governor, Lateef Jakande, in 1981 when the estate was designed and allocated.
