Fashola Cries Out Over Obanikoro's Deployment Of Soldiers To Lagos

 

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, yesterday, expressed reservations over the Minister of State for Defense, Senator Musliu Obanikoro’s alleged invasion of the state with soldiers to disrupt the ongoing Ilubirin Housing projects on the Lagos Island.

Fashola, who made the observation  while rendering account of his stewardship in the last 2,500 days in office at the Lagos Television ground, alleged  that  agents of the Federal Government were bent on frustrating projects undertaken by the state government.

His words, “The contractor at Oyingbo has stopped works because some agents of the Federal Government moved soldiers there, claiming that they own the land. As far as I can recall, that land was acquired by  Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson during his tenure, when Alhaji Femi Okunnu was the Federal Commissioner for Works.

“In the documents handed over to our government, Alhaji Femi Okunnu clearly   indicated that that land belonged to the Lagos State Government. It has been unused for many years. It was when we started this Lagos HOMS initiative that we decided to build 48 flats there.

“We started building when people came with soldiers claiming it belongs to the Federal Government. They instructed the soldiers to stop the construction. This morning, on my way to this event, you would see I observed at the Ilubirin Housing Estate where we have started a project to build 1188 flats, someone has gone there to put a sign of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Fashola explained that the land has been there in  the last five years, saying the contract to reclaim the land was issued by the Lagos State government to Julius Berger in  the previous administration.

He said: “I was told that the minister we are talking about, Senator Obanikoro, was there on Saturday with soldiers. So, this is what we are going to get for 1.2 million votes from Lagos. It is a threat to our housing initiative, its threat to poor people, who are hoping to own homes under this scheme.”

Fashola, who listed a number of projects executed by the state government in the last 100 days in office, said the state government has brought healthcare delivery to the doorsteps of the people by building healthcare complexes and offering free medical services to the residents.

The governor said many roads were commissioned in the last 100 days, while the government also intensified efforts to solve the problem  of housing by giving out houses built under the Lagos State Home Ownership Mortgage Schemes.