Residents demand higher compensation for demolition

Residents of Adisa Estate in Yaba area of Lagos have demanded an upward review of compensation offered them on the planned demolition of their houses for the new railway project.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that many houses have been marked for demolition to give way for the Lagos – Ibadan Standard Gauge Railway Project.

Mr Fred Ayika, spokesman for the residents, told NAN on Wednesday in Lagos that the maximum price of N13 million placed on each house did not reflect the present value of the affected property.

According to him, the current value of each property in the estate is about N30 million, adding that paying maximum compensation of 13 million for a house “is most scandalous.’’

“Paying maximum N13 million compensation to residents fall short of the current value of the property in the estate.

“Four years ago, a three-bedroom bungalow in the estate was sold for N35 million, and that is the same property the consultants valued at N13 million,’’ Ayika said.

He noted that half plot of land opposite the estate went for N40 million, adding that the estate residents were not carried along in the valuation process.

However, Mr Femi Olaseinde, property consultants for Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), told NAN that valuation of the affected houses was guided by the Land Use Act.

Olaseinde said that there was a difference between compulsory valuation and conventional valuation.

According to him, in valuing a property under the compulsory valuation, guided by the Land Use Act, the land on which the said property sits is not considered.

“The exercise of compulsory valuation is not peculiar to Adisa Estate alone, it cuts across other affected property in Apapa, Tin Can through to Ibadan.

“It is a federal project that demands sacrifice from all.

“The law says that the land belongs to the government, therefore the land is forfeited.

“We do not derive any pleasure in making people sad, but it is the law,’’ Olaseinde said.

Mr Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transport, had during an on the spot assessment of the project, said the ministry was in talks with those whose property would be affected by the project.

Amaechi said that the discussion was necessary for amicable agreement between the parties concerned.