Residents of Osborne Foreshore 2 Estate in Lagos yesterday said they would not allow the construction of “dormitories” in the estate.
They urged the state government to help preserve the estate’s plan to prevent it from being turned into a “glorified slum” by certain developers.
The residents said there were no car parks or proper sewage disposal system in some of the ongoing projects, for which they sought the government’s intervention.
The estate association and Lekki Gardens /Foreshore Water Limited have been at loggerheads over an alleged violation of building laws.
The property company had insisted that it got building permits, but Osborne Resident Association Chairperson Mrs. Chinwe Ezenwa-Mbah said the company was constructing more than double the number of units it got approval for.
The association urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to direct the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development to order the suspension of building approvals in the estate obtained by the company for at least three months.
The residents said the suspension should be part of the review of the estate building approvals and should not be carried out “when the harm has already been done”.
The association denied any aggressive behaviour towards Lekki Gardens’ workers.
It said its executives were almost attacked during stakeholders’ meeting with the state government.
Mrs. Ezenwa-Mbah recalled that the residents woke up on April 7 to find heavy-duty construction trucks blocking the entrance and exit gates, with no one allowed in or out for over three hours, the fourth time in six months that would happen.
“We cannot be intimidated. Enough of name dropping to cow and intimidate the residents. Enough is enough. (The Nation)
