Festac Town , known as Festival Town ownership is being contested for.
An Elder Statesman and former Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing, Alhaji Femi Okunnu, reportedly spilled out and insists that Lagos State Government owns Festival Town (FESTAC).
Also other places whose ownership is being contested for are Ikoyi, Banana Island, Osborne Foreshore, Satellite Town, Trade Fair, among others.
He disclosed that the title of the lands were vested in the governor of the state and urged the Federal Government to hand over the assets to the state government.
It seems that these assets which are tagged Federal Government properties and have been abandoned.
A visit to these mentioned places shows lack of care, maintenance and total abandonment.
The elder statesman and ex-commissioner urged that the assets be returned to the state for effective and proper usage.
Okunnu, who is a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), revealed that he is most saddened that the federal secretariat in Ikoyi which was condtructed during his tenure as federal commissioner for Works has beens abandoned.
“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 the federal government when they wanted to build the federal secretariat.
“Today, I don’t like to pass through that way because I get sad anytime I see the current state. It is not only the quarters, but the land on which many of these buildings in the areas are situated.
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 was vested in the government of Lagos State when Lagos became a Crown Colony. The whole of Ikoyi, including Osborne Foreshore, Banana Island and others belong to the state government,” Okunnu said.
Going down memory lane, Okunnu also noted that title to the whole of Festac Town was vested in the government of Lagos State just as he said the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and Trade Fair remain tenants of the state government.
The Popular TradeFair located at the border of Amuwo-odofin is also tagged as a state Property.
“Lagos state government acquired the land of the Trade Fair site, but, the federal government took over the land and promised to compensate the state, which was to be paid to the original owners of the land, but, that compensation was not paid. Today, Trade Fair has been turned into a market, far from the original purpose intended.
“Satellite Town, too, is vested in Lagos state. It is the federal government which should prove the 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 noted.
The Lagos State Government , set up a committee to investigate and make proper findings on these statements which included Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana; Partner of Simmons Cooper, Mrs Victoria Alonge, among others.
He said during the course of the committee’s findings, several government agencies were contacted, including Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing as well as Ministry of Defence, among others, and expressed optimism that the state and federal government would find a lasting solution to the issue.
This depute of ownership of these named spaces especially Festac Town has been on for decades without coming to an agreeable solution.
“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. – Ambode
He added that 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. He said such projects, when embarked upon, would help to reflate the economy and improve the GDP of the state.
“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 favourable response from the federal government especially given the fact that the 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 now a representative of Lagos State in the Federal Cabinet.”n -Ambode.
The Current Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) is said to have put in effort during his tenure as the Governor of Lagos State.
Do you think that the Federal Government would finally release these huge properties and estates to Lagos State ?
Who Really Owns Festac ?
Interesting