Pavore9:
"Although the buildings were reportedly destroyed because the owners did not get necessary permits to embark on the constructions, the victims said the government failed to give them prior notices before the buildings were brought down".....Case dismissed!

kettykin:
The timing of the demolition is it right ?
First they came with abandoned property edict, now it is demolition edict, when will these problems against non indigenes stop

HarkymTheOracle:


As in,what kind of a Government destroys property witout prior notice to d occupant.
Ans: Nigerian Govt

kettykin:
Four property owners at Hitech Estate, Odonikin village, in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area, Lagos State, say they have been thrown into debts after officials of the state government demolished four newly-completed buildings in the area.

The affected structures comprised five joint duplexes, a four-bedroomed duplex, a five-bedroomed apartment and a three-storeyed building owned by a private school – Learning Lands.

Although the buildings were reportedly destroyed because the owners did not get necessary permits to embark on the constructions, the victims said the government failed to give them prior notices before the buildings were brought down.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the demolition was carried out last Friday by officials of the state Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, who were accompanied by policemen from the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit.

Some of the landlords, who spoke with our correspondent on Wednesday, said they had petitioned the state Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development on the incident without getting any positive response.

One of them, Mrs. Augustina Daniel, said, “I got a call around 11am last Friday that bulldozers were destroying houses. I rushed to the scene with my husband. Our building, comprising five joint duplexes, worth N200m, was brought to the ground in our presence. We met with the officials, but none of them talked to us.

“We went to the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development on Monday with our survey plans and we were told to submit them and leave. They also told us that the buildings were demolished because we did not have a building permit.

“We wrote a letter to the commissioner on Tuesday and it was not acknowledged. If a house is to be demolished, a notice should be given; we didn’t get that. The information we have is that the demolition was done because there are people in that area who have interest in those pieces of land.”

Mr. Omomega Ashofor, whose residence was also demolished, said he had spent about N70m to put up the structure and asked that he should be compensated for the damage.

He said, “Mine was a fully detached four-bedroomed duplex. I was planning to paint the building so that in two months’ time, my family and I could move in. I have spent about N70m on it so far. It was a neighbour that alerted me to the demolition. With the supervision of armed policemen, the structure was brought down within an hour.


“They are supposed to serve us notices if there is any contravention and give us time to respond. But none of that was done. There has never been a time that a stop-work order was given to us. I want compensation for the damage. This is a property involved, not just money, but emotional input.”

Austine Kazeem, who said he planned to move into his five-bedroomed flat this month, said, “I am based abroad. If any notice had been issued to me, I would have gone to the ministry to sort it out.”

Efforts to speak with the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, proved abortive as calls put across to his line did not connect. He had also yet to respond to a text message sent to his phone since Wednesday.

However, the spokesman for the Lagos State Task Force on Environment and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit, Mr. Adebayo Taofiq, said officials of the agency only gave security backing for officials of the ministry.

He said notices must have been served on the aggrieved persons at different stages of the constructions without compliance before the buildings were brought down.

“Task force only gave security back up to the government agency responsible for the demolition. The fundamental question is why didn’t they obtain a building plan approval before construction? Such development is illegal and no responsible government will tolerate illegality.

“Government doesn’t just wake up and carry out demolition. First, the building would be marked with red ‘X’. After the ‘X’, a stop-work order will be served. If the owner of such property refuses to show up with relevant papers, which include a building plan approval, government will serve another notice which is a demolition notice.

“Lagos State has a master plan and once such is violated, the illegal structure will be removed,” he said.

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http://m.punchng.com/lagos-demolishes-school-building-duplexes-permits/

Wyttcat:
All we saw was a kiosk oo! And the first information said it was a 'shop' Now it's being described as duplexes, and soon skyscrapers. Someone is still coming forward to say they had a mall and a five star hotel, and oh Heathrow replica airport among the structure demolished. South Africa comes to mind, just like people who had no place to sleep were begging the Ethiopian shop owners to allow them take pictures with their damaged shop to claim money from the govt until a Yoruba journalist put a whole in the story. Trust these people to describe it as half of Lagos.

All this on how many plots of land?

Once you build without permit, the building is for the govt, and they do it as they wish.

In sane clime, they will not only seal off the building, but they would have gone to jail too.

kettykin:
The timing of the demolition is it right ?
First they came with abandoned property edict, now it is demolition edict, when will these problems against non indigenes stop

NORSIYK:


But why are you aFONJAS like this?
"just look at what you have written

[size=14pt]Ambode Inaugurates Committee On Clean Up Of Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki[/size]



Ambode with Representative of Victoria Island/Ikoyi Residents Associations (VIIRA), Dr. Ishola Salami; Sole Administrator, Oniru/Victoria Island LCDA, Princess Aderemi Adebowale and another representative of VIIRA, Alhaji Abdul-Lateef Muse during the inauguration of a Committee on Clean-up of Victoria Island/Ikoyi/Lekki Areas at the Lagos House, Ikeja, on Tuesday, August 30, 2016.

August 30, 2016
Francis Moses

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Tuesday, inaugurated a Special Committee saddled with the responsibility of restoring the original master plan of Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki areas of Lagos State, just as he vowed to bring environmental sanity to all nooks and crannies of the State.

Governor Ambode, who spoke at the Lagos House in Ikeja, said his administration was passionately determined to rescue the fragile environment in the State from avoidable impediments, adding that his resolve was non-negotiable.

The Governor said over time, government had observed gross abuse of urban planning and environmental laws which necessitated the decision to embark on a major clean-up of the environment to restore it to its desired form.

“Cases of abandoned properties have become very rampant with miscreants and criminal elements taking over these properties as their base to cause havoc. The neat road sides of the past now parade pockets of kiosks, illegal parking lots, unapproved mechanic workshops, roadside beer parlours and commercial centres. In addition, originally residential areas now have industrial and commercial concerns located there, distorting the balance of the environment.

“These bad environmental practices, thriving in these prime areas, can no longer be tolerated and will be brought to an end immediately. These areas must regain their lost glory as this administration demands a return of environmental normalcy.

“A safe, clean and prosperous Lagos is non-negotiable; that is the commitment of our administration. We will not allow these environmental infractions to continue. We cannot allow our beautiful environment to be destroyed by people who have no regard for beauty, serenity, law and order,” Governor Ambode said.

While expressing his administration’s determination to make all locations, schemes and estates in the State clean and safe, the Governor vowed to do everything possible to bring environmental sanity back to every part of the State.

“This is not a one-off exercise. The Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Lekki clean-up is the pilot scheme and this rescue operation has come to stay until we achieve the Lagos of our dreams,” he said.

Specifically, the responsibilities of the Committee are: “Immediately commence the implementation of the approved action plan and execution of the clean-up exercise; develop strategies for preventing re-occurrences as well as other recommendations as necessary to sustain environmental renewal of these areas; and embark on a public sensitization exercise for the sustenance of a cleaner community in the axis.”

Besides, Governor Ambode appealed to all stakeholders to give the committee the maximum support required for the success of the initiative and for the overall benefit of the State.

The Committee is chaired by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, while other members are Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare; Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Folorunso Folarin Coker; Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Engr. Ade Akinsanya; Special Adviser to the Governor on Urban Development, Mrs. Yetunde Afusat Onabule; Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Political Matters, Adekunle Olayinka; General Manager, Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Mr. Segun Adeniji; and General Manager, Lagos State Urban Renewal Authority (LASURA), Mr. Lateef Sholebo.

Others include Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sulaimon Dogo; Chairman, Lagos State Special Task Force on Environmental Offences, Supol Olayinka Egbeyemi; Sole Administrators of Iru/Victoria Island and Ikoyi/Obalende Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) – Princess Aderemi Adebowale and Hon. Goke Olawale; Representative of Victoria Island and Ikoyi Residents’ Association (VIIRA) – Dr. Salami, Alhaji Muse and Mr. Jide Bibire Sanmiwa; Chairmen of Community Development Councils (CDCs) for the two LCDAs – Mr. Jolly Johnson and Rev Seriki.

Responding on behalf of members of the Committee, Bello thanked Governor Ambode for the confidence reposed in them to do the job, adding that members of the Committee were carefully selected and fully ready to carry out the task.

He said the job cannot be done alone by government, and as such, residents should support the Committee with regular feedback

Pavore9:
"Although the buildings were reportedly destroyed because the owners did not get necessary permits to embark on the constructions, the victims said the government failed to give them prior notices before the buildings were brought down".....Case dismissed!

Wyttcat:
They were given notice not once twice but 3 times. This isn't the first time we are hearing "they didn't give us notice" and it turned out they felt they are above the law.

Pavore9:


“Government doesn’t just wake up and carry out demolition. First, the building would be marked with red ‘X’. After the ‘X’, a stop-work order will be served. If the owner of such property refuses to show up with relevant papers, which include a building plan approval, government will serve another notice which is a demolition notice". It is left for the people whose properties were brought down to prove that the State government did not go through this process!