Sanwo-Olu pays N3.1bn compensation to owners of land acquired for Lagos infrastructure

• 331 families, schools, mosques get cheques

Hundreds of beneficiaries, including filling stations, private schools and mosques have been compensated by the Lagos State Government as Projects Affected Persons on parcels of land acquired for overriding public interest.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, presented N3.1 billion cheques to owners of ancestral land, residential buildings and business centres acquired across Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu, Igbogbo and Ogba areas for various development projects of the State Government.

The ceremony, held at Adeyemi Bero Hall in Alausa, was a sequel to the compensation scheme held two years ago for families and businesses affected by the Government’s infrastructural development programme.

The beneficiaries include those affected by the construction of IgbeBola Ahmed Tinubu Way in Ikorodu, construction of Agric-Isawo-Konu-Arepo Road realignment, rehabilitation and upgrade of strategic arterial roads in Epe, and construction of Hospital Road in Badagry, among others.

The compensation payments followed thorough verification of claims by the State Government through enumeration, valuation by professional estate surveyors, and confirmation of title in order to ensure the compensations were paid to the rightful owners of the acquired properties.

Sanwo-Olu said the State exercised its powers under Sections 28 and 29 of the Land Use Act to acquire the land for overriding public interest, noting that the Government took it as an obligation to compensate those affected fairly, transparently and promptly.

He said: “Today, we are presenting cheques totalling N3.1 billion to 331 Project Affected Persons whose land and property were acquired for strategic road projects across our State. We have gathered not merely to present compensation cheques, but to reaffirm a principle that lies at the heart of responsible governance: that development must always have a human face.