The indigenous people and residents of Okun Ajah community in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State have raised alarms over the alleged illegal diversion of the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Expressway through their community by certain officials of Federal and State government agencies.
Members of the community, organized under the Okun Ajah Community Development Association, have called on President Bola Tinubu to investigate the alleged diversion, expressing concerns that it could result in the demolition of their homes.
The community refuted claims made by the Ministry of Works, which stated that the diversion of the road in Okun Ajah was necessary due to the presence of telecommunications cables. In a letter signed by their Chairman, Isah Noibi, and Secretary, Yusuf Odunuga, the residents urged President Tinubu to instruct the relevant officials to reverse the diversion.
The letter stated: “As we speak, there are rumors of hundreds of millions of naira exchanging hands between those who built on the Coastal road and influential forces within the Federal Government agencies to divert the Coastal road from its legally enacted trajectory of 30 years ago into properties of law-abiding citizens who did not build on the Coastal Road alignment.”
The community leaders further clarified, “Mr. President, kindly disregard the misinformation and falsehood that MTN cable passes through Okun Ajah. No single cable passes through Okun Ajah. For clarification purposes, the Okun Ajah alignment is at Chainage 16+500 – 17+500, while the MTN cable is at Chainage 24+500, which is at Shoprite road, Okun Mopo, about 7 kilometers away from Okun Ajah.”