Lagos Assembly Asks Sanwo-Olu To Relocate Makoko Residents

Lagos State House of Assembly has adopted the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Rules and Business on the demolition carried out in Makoko, Oko-Agbon and Sogunro communities and urged  Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to relocate the residents.

The resolution followed a petition addressed to the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, titled: ‘Urgent Appeal Regarding Ongoing Mass Forced Eviction and Illegal Demolition Threatening Tens of Thousands in Makoko, Oko-Agbon and Sogunro Communities’.

Presenting the report during plenary, the chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Hon. Noheem Adams, explained that the members arrived at the conclusions after they engaged the petitioners in five meetings and conducted an oversight visits to relevant government officials, agencies and representatives of the affected communities.

According to him, the demolition exercise undertaken by the state government resulted in the displacement of numerous residents, including the elderly, the sick, women and children, as well as the destruction of homes and other properties.

Adams added that the committee observed that the affected waterfront communities largely depended on fishing as their primary source of livelihood and have historically resided on the water due to the nature of their occupation.

The committee also noted that following the demolition, living conditions within Makoko and surrounding areas deteriorated significantly, leading to environmental and health hazards, as well as heightened safety and security concerns.

Based on its findings, the committee recommended that the governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, should direct the Special Adviser on E-GIS to vet the enumeration report submitted by the Makoko, Sogunro and Oko-Agbon communities.

The committee further recommended that the government should relocate the remaining residents of Makoko, Sogunro and Oko-Agbon to a proposed low-cost housing estate to be constructed in Agbowa area of the State, where they can continue their fishing activities.

In addition, the committee advised that the government should involve the Oloto of the Otto Family in the construction of the Water City Project, in recognition of the Community as original owners of the land.