Lekki airport: Residents demand compensation earlier than demolition

Residents of Ajiwe community of Ajah, Lagos State, have called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to stop the demolition of their houses for infrastructure projects until they receive due compensation.

The landlords and tenants alleged that their property had been slated for demolition to make way for the Gas Link pipeline and Green Line Rail projects, integral components for the new Lagos Airport being constructed in the Ibeju Lekki area of the state.

DAILY POST reports that the affected landlords and tenants staged a protest on Abraham Adesanya expressway over the weekend.

They displayed placards with inscriptions such as, ‘We say no to Gas Link and Green Line Rail projects demolition of our properties without Compensation’, ‘Our properties cannot be demolished without compensation’, ‘Compensate us’, among others.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Kehinde Alakoso said the projects served an overriding public purpose, as stipulated by law, but stressed the need to consider the human cost.

“We have written to the state governor, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Oluyinka Olumide, and other relevant people in the state,” he said.