Lagos-Calabar Stakeholder Meeting: Landmark playing politics with Politicians – Umahi

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, stated during the Lagos-Calabar Stakeholder meeting held in Lagos on Wednesday that “the shoreline never belonged to Landmark; the owner, Owuanibe, sublet it to people illegally.”

In response to criticism, Umahi clarified that no Landmark infrastructure is affected by coastal development despite landmark claims of demolition of its sublet on the shoreline.

The Minister adds that

Landmark is simply playing politics with politicians while maintaining that there is nothing to claim.

Umahi further challenged Landmark to provide documents to prove ownership of the shoreline.

I’ve asked him to bring his documents and challenge him and his co-politicians to get the documents. Let him flash the documents before the press, says Umahi.

The Minister of Works addressed Peter Obi’s criticism of the demolition of the Landmark infrastructure by referring to his tenure as former governor of Anambra.

[There was] a similar scenario when His Excellency Peter Obi was governor, and he made a statement. He said, ‘Any infrastructure that stands in the way of road construction must go, and no compensation will be paid.’ That’s what he said. But look at me. By the human face of the Renewed Hope Agenda administration, we are even paying for people who are illegally staying on the coastline and do not even have, you know, valid infrastructure and valid documents. That is mercy.

Meanwhile, aside from criticism, when AriseTV correspondent Laila Johnson-Salam asked the minister of the Lagos-Calabar Highway Project’s environmental impact assessment copy and its accessibility to the public domain, Umahi deflected with not hearing her accents.

However, the Bureau of Public Procurement had in April issued approval for the contractor, Messrs Hitech Company Limited, to seek the Federal Executive Council green light to name it construction price, costing N1.06 trillion, including 7.5% VAT, with a cost reduction of N33.8 billion.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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