Viewpoint —
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, Tuesday at a presentation of ‘Report On Field Verification Exercise/Acquisition Of National Stadium Complex, Surulere, Lagos said the ministry has ejected unauthorized developers putting up building projects on some parts of the land within the National Stadium Complex in Surulere, Lagos.
While saying that the Ministry has also closed down the construction sites of these developers and sealed off their operations, the Minister emphasized that these decisions were necessary to protect Government land and assets.
“The Ministry of Works and Housing is the custodian of Government land and assets and so when we were briefed about the encroachment on part of the land acquired by the Federal Government for the construction of the National Stadium in Lagos many years ago, in 1960 and 1973, we had to follow it up, Fashola said.
“The Ministry put together a very strong team to investigate the matter immediately and thoroughly. I also visited the sites personally to have firsthand knowledge and see things for myself.
“Once our investigative team was able to establish the facts about Government ownership of the land and that those developers were unauthorized, we invited the Lagos Police Command to close down the construction sites and seal off their operations. All these were done on behalf of the Ministry of Sports because the land falls directly under your jurisdiction.
Before clamping down on the builders and developers, surveyors and land experts in the Ministry of Works and Housing also went through many official documents and gazettes to ascertain the scale of the acquisition of the land by the Government in 1960 and 1973.
Mrs. Angela Great-Edereka, the Director of Lands, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, confirmed that official documents show the land was legally acquired by the Government in 1960 and 1973.
