Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has said the shoreline affected by the Lagos-Calabar coastal road never belonged to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Landmark Africa Group, Paul Onwuanibe.
According to Arise TV, Umahi spoke at the second meeting with parties affected by the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, which was held on Wednesday in Lagos.
The planned infrastructure is designed to link the former capital city to Calabar, a port city near the border with Cameroon.
Landmark sits along the Atlantic Ocean beachfront in Lagos’s affluent Victoria Island area.
Some Landmark Beach Resort employees also protested the beach’s sand filling.
“The shoreline never belonged to Landmark; the owner, Onwuanibe, sublet it to people illegally,” the works minister said, insisting that Onwuanibe’s infrastructure was unaffected.
Umahi said the Landmark owner is “playing politics with politicians,” adding that “there is nothing to claim.”
“Mr President says that this development must have two factors. One is the fear of God, and the second is the human face, and that’s what we have tried to do.
“Since we came on Thursday, we have been going through the route every day from morning to about 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. We’ve made hard decisions. In some cases, we have followed the gazetted routes. In other cases, we have realigned to the coastal line, majorly. And the coastal line from the shore, 250 metres by the Supreme Court judgment, belongs to the federal government.
“I talk in particular about Landmark. There is none of his infrastructure that is affected. I agree that there are some people he subleased the place to, but the shoreline was never given to him by the Oniru family. These people he sublet to, he erected some caravans, makeshifts, so on and so forth within the shoreline. So, we are dealing with these people who sublet the shoreline illegally,” Mr Umahi said.
The minister challenged Landmark to provide documentation to lay claims to the shorelines.
“I have asked him to bring his documents. I challenge him and his co-politicians; let him flash the documents before the press,” he said.
Umahi also addressed criticism of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi.
The former Anambra governor had described the demolition of structures for the project as “insensitive” and “heart-wrenching.” (Premium Times)
