Coastal Road: Diasporan Investors Seek Tinubu Intervention On Property Demolition

A group of Nigerians and foreigners living abroad have called on President Bola Tinubu to order an investigation into the demolition of their properties in the Okun Ajah area of Lagos State by the Federal Ministry of Works under the pretext of building the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

The diasporan Investors, who alleged that demolishing their properties violates the 2006 gazetted alignment for the proposed coastal road project, also urged the Senate Committee on Works to investigate the corruption allegations against the Ministry of Works to ensure transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s investment landscape.

Speaking on behalf of the group, the managing director of WinHomes Global Estate, Mrs Stella Okengwu, claimed that the Ministry of Works’s embarkation on the demolition to make way for the Lagos-Calabar Highway has been bold, rash, and punitive.

Okengwu, an engineer, also accused the minister of disobeying all laws, inflicting hardship on stakeholders, communities, and businesses, especially Winhomes Estate, which had attracted substantial foreign direct investment (FDI).

She maintained that the Minister of Works, David Umahi, did not consider the environmental impact of citing a coastal road project through residential property investment around the Okun-Ajah Corridor before diverting it from the initial master plan/gazette of 2006.

Okengwu further said that she, alongside fellow investors, had responded to President Tinubu’s call for diasporans to return home and contribute to Nigeria’s economic growth.

She said, “Through the WinHomes Investment Scheme, 70% of subscribers were diasporans, injecting millions into the Nigerian economy. The investors had meticulously followed legal protocols, obtaining all necessary documentation, including a certificate of occupancy, governor’s consent, and coastal road clearance.

“As Diasporan Investors, we are not seeking financial compensation of any kind from the Government, but rather appeal to the President to mandate the Minister of Works to revert to the 2006 gazetted alignment as we made sure proper and detailed due diligence was done before this property was purchased,” she stated.