Indigenes and residents of Okun Ajah in the Eti Osa Local Government area of Lagos State have made a passionate appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Works, David Umahi to ensure that the Lagos Calabar Coastal Highway in the community is in concordance with the 2006 gazetted alignment.
The anger from the indigenes and residents of the town stemmed from the last week announcement by the Minister of Works, David Umahi that the Federal Government will re-route the Okun Ajah section of the road.
Residents describe the planned rerouting of the coastal road in Okun Ajah as not only a miscarriage of justice to those who adhered to and observed the road alignment, but also a bad omen to other roads alignments in the country.
The residents explained the affected people by the new diversion of the road are those who acquired the necessary documents such as Certificate of Occupancy, Governor’s Consent and other necessary documents from the Lagos State Government.
The affected individuals were taken aback when despite assurances at the last stakeholders’ meeting at Eko Hotel, Lagos, their properties were impacted by the highway construction.
Umahi, had assured them that their properties would remain unaffected as they were developed outside the gazetted areas designated for the project.
An indigene of the town, Yussuf Odunuga said, “Since we got the excision for this village in 2006 under the then Governor Bola Tinubu, now President of Nigeria, there was an alignment for Coastal road and it was gazetted.”
He continued that: “Everybody in the town knows that there is a Coastal road alignment and but some people went ahead to build on some parts of the alignment thinking that government will not come and construct the road in future.”
The indigene also maintained that; “Now that it is the time for the construction of the road, the minister is trying to divert the road from the houses of those who built on the alignment at the expense of those who adhered to the alignment.
“It is really unjust and confusing. Those who are affected now have the valid docents from the government, while those who built on the coastal road do not,” Odunuga said.
Kazeem Shittu, a member of the Baale in Council of Okun Ajah, also called on the minister to revert to the alignment of the coastal road to douse the tension in the town. He appreciated the president and the minister for their efforts on the coastal road but urged them to maintain the 2006 alignment Kazeem said: “Reverting to the coastal road alignment of 2006 will engender peace and unity in the community.
The Minister of Work should go back to the gazetted alignment of the Coastal road in our community.”
