LAGOS —BARELY seven days after the Independence Bridge closure saga, there was a similar gridlock, yesterday, following the closure of the entry and exit gates of Banana Island, located in the Ikoyi Area of Lagos State.
The closure carried out by government agents led to a lockdown on the Lekki-Ajah axis, Park View Estate, Foreshore and some other parts of Ikoyi as motorists spent several hours on the road.
Residents and visitors were prevented from entering or leaving as well.
It was gathered that the shutdown was due to the proposed demolition of the Banana Club House.
In a viral video, motorists were seen stranded in the estate, with some men manning the gate to the estate.
However, there were contradictory claims about the government agencies responsible for the development.
While some attributed it to agencies of the Federal Government, others said agencies of the state government were responsible.
When contacted, officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LABCA, debunked involvement in the operation.
When contacted, the Public Affairs Officer, LABSCA, Adu Ademuyiwa, said the agency was unaware of any operation in the Banana Island area.
Ademuyiwa said: “It is not true. Our men are not there. And we have not stopped any residents or visitors from entering their estate on Banana Island.
“When the time for the demolition of the illegal buildings in the area is done, we will communicate it appropriately to the public.”
He, however, reiterated the state government’s commitment to enforcing urban planning laws.
Afemuyiwa added that the agency’s General Manager, Gbolahan Oki, had maintained that structures found violating building codes, including those under high-tension power lines and within restricted shoreline areas, would be identified and subsequently demolished.
Also, the Director of Press and Public Affairs, Lagos State Taskforce, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem denied knowledge of any operation of the agency at Banana Island.
Abdulraheem said: “The agency did not carry out any operation at Banana Island today (yesterday). The agency only gives backup to agencies for operations. But I can tell you that our men did not carry out enforcement at Banana Island and its environs.”
Recall that the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, had urged owners of Federal Government lands and houses in Lagos State to remit their ground rent to the government’s coffer.
Dangiwa at a recent stakeholder-citizens’ engagement on land administration and a physical assessment of Banana Island, Osborne Phase One and Two, Park View/Foreshore estates and shoreline., had said: “The Ministry is resolved to ensure strict adherence to the provisions of the law regarding the control and administration of its assets to maintain order.”
