The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has ordered the closure of Landmark Beach, Lagos starting from Sunday.
Umahi disclosed this on Saturday, during a press briefing held at Landmark Beach.
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He said, “We want to start the demolition from this point, I continue to say that none of the infrastructure is affected, just the shanties, and I have directed that the beach should be shut down from tomorrow.
“The place is owned by people that are sand filling it, and at the end of the day, there is no more beach, so what we are doing is to pass our coastal road within the Right of Way of the Federal Government. Those who are playing politics with it can go ahead; my job is simple, which is to pass the coastal road.”
The minister asserted that from Wednesday or Thursday, compensation would be paid.
He said, “From Wednesday/Thursday, I will pay the compensation, that is why I am still here and I will be here working through the week. For anyone (all that has been confirmed and deserving) being demolished, we would direct the payment to be made.
“I know that you must pay before you demolish, but this is President Bola Tinubu’s government, we have said we would pay compensation, and we are going to pay compensation.”
Umahi noted that the government’s commitment is to stay along the coastline, describing that they have gone through kilometers 13, 16, and 20 today, Saturday.
He added, “We are not doing this because of any particular reason, we are considering the most economical and viable way to pass this coastal road without much damage and we are also considering the economic value of the coastal road if we stay within the coast.”
According to him, the demolition was necessary because the landmark centre was on the federal government’s Right-of-way.
The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Korede Keisha, had on Thursday, asked all those whose houses were marked for demolition to come to the ministry’s secretariat in Lagos to sort out whatever process was required by the ministry.
She said the demolition squad would move in on Saturday to begin the removal of the marked properties.
Recall that the Minister of Works previously disclosed that the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project is expected to take eight years to complete, with a cost estimate of N4 bn per kilometer.
The 700 km Lagos-Calabar coastal road will be constructed for N15trn, and a kilometre of the road will cost N4bn.
It is designed to connect Lagos to Cross River, passing through Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom states before culminating in Cross River.