Elder Statesman and former Federal Commissioner
for Works and Housing, Alhaji Femi Okunnu on Tuesday expressed sadness over the
current status of the Federal Secretariat in Lagos and other abandoned and
surplus assets of the Federal Government in the State, urging that the assets
be returned to the State Government for effective and proper usage.
Okunnu, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN),
spoke at Lagos House in Ikeja while presenting the report of a Special
Committee which he chaired set up by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Federal
Government Assets in the State.
He said the whole of Ikoyi, Banana Island, Osborne
Foreshore, Festac Town, Satellite Town, Trade Fair, among others belonged to
Lagos State Government, and title of the lands were vested in the Governor of
the State, urging the Federal Government to handover the assets to the State
Government.
Okunnu said the issue of Federal Secretariat in
Ikoyi was particularly saddening to him for the fact that it was during his
tenure as Federal Commissioner for Works that the structure was
constructed.
“Federal Secretariat gives me sadness because I
built it when I was the Federal Commissioner for Works. The land upon which the
secretariat is situated is part of the Crown land now State land. The title is
vested in Lagos State but when he was Governor of Lagos State, Brigadier
General Omobola Johnson (Rtd) agreed to release that land to Federal Government
when they wanted to build Federal Secretariat.
“Today, I don’t like to pass through that side
because it gives me sadness anytime I see it in the current state.
“It is not only the quarters but the land on which
many of these buildings in the areas are situate. In our Committee, We have
tried to argue that the whole of Ikoyi with the boundary at Lagos Canal standing
between Ikoyi Island and Lagos Island, title to the whole of the Island is
vested in the government of Lagos State when Lagos became Crown Colony. The
whole of Ikoyi including Osborn Foreshore, Banana Island, and others belong to
the State Government,” Okunnu said.
Going down memory lane, Okunnu said the title to
the whole of Festac Town was vested in the Government of Lagos State and that
the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) remained the tenant of the State
Government, same as Trade Fair.
“Lagos State Government acquired the Land of the
Trade Fair site but Federal Government took over the land and gave a promise to
pay the state compensation which was to be paid to the original owners of the
land but that compensation was not paid. Today, the Trade Fair has been turned
into market far from the original purpose intended.
“Satellite Town too is vested in Lagos State. It
is the Federal Government which should prove title to any land which it claims
to own in Lagos State, but I will like to urge the Federal Government to return
the lands to the State Government,” Okunnu said.
He said during the course of the Committee
findings, several government agencies were contacted including Federal Ministry
of Works, Power and Housing, as well as Ministry of Defence, among others,
expressing optimism that the State Government and the Federal Government would
find a lasting solution to the issue.
“We hope that discussions between Lagos State
Government and Federal Government over Federal Government lands and state lands
within Lagos, as well as over disuse or surplus lands which Federal Government
especially Defence and Prisons are still occupying in Lagos, and are now
surplus to requirement, will be held to settle this palaver once and for all,”
Okunnu said.
Responding after receiving the report, Governor
Ambode commended members of the Committee which included Senior Advocate of
Nigeria, Femi Falana; Partner of SimmonsCooper, Mrs Victoria Alonge, among
others, for the painstaking efforts put into the report, saying that their
passion in ensuring that the State Government recovers its lands, buildings as
well as disputed quarters were very much appreciated.
He said the report came at a time when the State
Government was in dire need of space for developmental projects that would
improve the socio-economic wellbeing of its residents in line with the
realities of present times, adding that such projects, when embarked upon,
would help to reflate the economy and improve the GDP of the State.
He said: “It is our hope that this initiative will
put an end to the long-standing dispute between Federal and Lagos State
Governments over the Federal Government disused lands and buildings and
disputed quarters in various parts of the State which are no longer in use for
the purposes for which they were originally released to the Federal Government
“We are hopeful that this report will get
favorable response from the Federal Government especially given the fact that
the Honourable Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN)
was a passionate advocate of this issue during his tenure as the Governor of
Lagos State and is also now a representative of Lagos State in the Federal
Cabinet.”
Besides, Governor Ambode directed members of the
Committee to move further by mediating between the State and the Federal
Government on how the assets would be released to Lagos State.
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