The Lagos State Government is to contest the ownership of highbrow Bananna Island, in Ikoyi, Festac and Satellite towns and the Trade Fair Complex, on Lagos-Badagry Expressway, among other federal landed properties in Lagos.
Throwing his knowledge of how these lands were acquired from Lagos is Femi Okunnu, a former Federal Commissioner of Works and Housing, and Femi Falana (both Senior Advocates of Nigeria), who agreed that Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) issued on any of these properties remained null and void, on the grounds that the lands belong to Lagos State and are vested in the governor, and not the Federal Government.
Okunnu and Falana were in the office of Governor Akinwunmi Ammbode of Lagos State, to present the report of the committee on federal assets in Lagos. Ambode had on December 16, 2015, set up the committee, headed by Okunnu, with Falana and Victoria Alonge, of SimmonsCooper, as members, to look into federal assets in Lagos and their present status.
The mandate of the committee was also to determine to what extent lands acquired by the Federal Government had been put to use, and whether in line with the purpose for which they were originally acquired, including military barracks, most of which, according to the committee, remain unutilised.
Okunnu, presenting the report, stated that the whole of Ikoyi, Banana Island, Osborne Foreshore, Festac Town, Satellite Town and the Trade Fair Complex, among others, belonged to the Lagos State Government, and title of the lands were vested in the state governor, and urged the Federal Government to release them to the state government. According to Okunnu, the issue of the Federal Secretariat in Ikoyi, is particularly saddening for the fact that it was during his tenure as Federal Commissioner of Works that the structure was constructed.
“The Federal Secretariat gives me sadness because I built it when I was the Federal Commissioner for Works. The land upon which the secretariat is situated is part of the Crown land now State land. The title is vested in Lagos State. The former, Brigadier General Omobola Johnson (Rtd) agreed to release that land to the Federal Government when they wanted to build Federal Secretariat. “Today, I don’t like to pass through that side because it gives me sadness anytime I see it in the current state.
“It is not only the quarters but the land on which many of these buildings in the areas are situated. In our committee, we have tried to argue that the whole of Ikoyi, with the boundary at Lagos Canal, standing between Ikoyi Island and Lagos Island, title to the whole of the Island is vested in the government of Lagos State, when Lagos became Crown Colony. The whole of Ikoyi, including Osborn Foreshore, Banana Island, and others, belong to the State Government,” Okunnu said.
Speaking further, Okunnu said the title to the whole of Festac Town was vested in the government of Lagos State and that the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) remained the tenant of the state government, same as Trade Fair Complex.
“Lagos State Government acquired the Land of the Trade Fair site, but the Federal Government took over the land and gave a promise to pay the state compensation, which was to be paid to the original owners of the land but that compensation was not paid. Today, the Trade Fair has been turned into a market, far from the original purpose intended.
“Satellite Town too is vested in Lagos State. It is the Federal Government which should prove title to any land which it claims to own in Lagos State, but I will like to urge the Federal Government to return the lands to the State Government,” Okunnu said.
He said during the course of the Committee’s findings, several government agencies were contacted, including the Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing, as well as Ministry of Defence, among others, expressing optimism that the State and Federal Governments would find a lasting solution to the issue.
“We hope that discussions between the Lagos State Government and Federal Government, over Federal Government lands and state lands within Lagos, as well as over disuse or surplus lands which the Federal Government, especially Defence and Prisons are still occupying in Lagos, and are now surplus to requirement, will be held to settle this palaver once and for all,” Okunnu said.
Governor Ambode commended members of the committee, for a thorough job, saying that their passion in ensuring that the state government recovers its lands, buildings, as well as disputed quarters, were very much appreciated.
He said the report came at a time when the state government was in dire need of space for its growing population and developmental projects that would improve the socio-economic wellbeing of its residents, in line with the realities of present times, adding that such projects, when embarked upon, would help to reflate the economy and improve the GDP of the state.
“It is our hope that this initiative will put an end to the long-standing dispute between Federal and Lagos State Governments, over the Federal Government disused lands and buildings and disputed quarters in various parts of the state, which are no longer in use for the purposes for which they were originally released to the Federal Government.
“We are hopeful that this report will get favourable response from the Federal Government, especially given the fact that the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola was a passionate advocate of this issue during his tenure as the governor of Lagos State and is also now a representative of Lagos State in the federal cabinet.”
JOSHUA BASSEY
