Coastal road: Ghana school residents seek compensation

Residents of Ghana School in Eti-Osa local council, whose houses were pulled down recently to pave way for the Lagos-Calabar coastal road, have written to  the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos,  Olukorede Keisha, over compensation meant for owners of demolished structures.  
   
Speaking after submitting the letter at the office of the controller, the chairman of residents and landlords of Ghana School, Richard Olushola Akinfosile, said they were the rightful owners of the affected structures.
   

He said after the demolition, they met Noheem Fowobi Adams, the  representative of Constituency 1, Eti-Osa Local Council at the Lagos State House of Assembly over the matter.
   
He said the lawmaker stressed that the right owners of demolished structures would be paid.  
   
“He directed us to submit our letters to the government. We have submitted our letter to the Controller of Works. We are looking forward to hearing from her. However, we got information that the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources gave out some money to some people concerning the same buildings that were demolished in that particular area.  
   
“We have not seen any money. That is the more reason we want to know the  people that collected the money. 
   
“So, we are begging the Lagos State  governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to look at our case on humanitarian grounds because most of us voted for the current administration,” he said.
   
Also, the vice chairman, Agbehanmi Zachariah Moses, said they heard that about N80 million was disbursed by the Lagos State government to victims of the demolition in Ghana School, and another N10 billion by the Federal Government to people affected by the construction.  
   
He pleaded with government to ensure that the money was disbursed to the rightful owners of houses destroyed in Ghana School.
   
“We have submitted our letter to the Controller of Works, and we are going to give a copy of the letter to the representative of our constituency, Noheem Adams,” he said.

He added: “We are appealing to the governor of Lagos State and the President to look into our matter because many of us are dying. Many of us have stroke and many are still in the hospital now.  
   
“We are Maroko evictees and were given that area by the Community Development Association (CDA) of Jakande Ilasan Housing Estate to reduce our burden after we were dislodged from Maroko by the military government in 1990.”

Many have died and others are in critical conditions in the hospitals.”