Govt told to work within law guiding land acquisition

Worried by the spate of land grabbing in the country, the Chief Executive Officer of Rimax Computer Services, Chief Livinus Richard Okwara, has charged national and sub-national governments to work within the law guiding land acquisition, by ensuring such lands are used for public purposes.

The  entrepreneur made this call at a media briefing held in Lagos at the weekend where he decried a situation where citizens’ lands are compulsorily acquired by the state for ‘overriding public interest’, without compensation, only to be re-sold to cronies of such government.

Besides being an abuse of privileged positions, the computer services consultant stated the action may also distort the original plans of  communities, where such  lands are acquired.

While recognising the power of any government to acquire land for overriding public interest, the Imo State-born entrepreneur however believes government should also ensure it works within the confines of what constitutes such public interests, as stipulated in Section 28 of the Land Use Act.

“Definitely, government has the right over its citizens, including the right to compulsorily acquire  the citizen’s lands. But it must also ensure  that what it intends to use such land for should be strictly for public interests. Unfortunately, what we see nowadays is government acquiring lands from.an individual and giving them out to friends and cronies. There is no way such  action can fit into the constitution’s definition of public interest,” he stated.

Chief Okwara also narrated how his two parcels of land: 100x 400 square metres, and 400×400 square metres, at Awoyaya Ilado, in Lekki were compulsorily acquired by the Lagos State government, only to be given out to private individuals, some of whom, he said, eventually sold it to other people, who never used it for such ‘overriding public purpose’ for which it was acquired by the state government.

“Though I was able to get a landmark judgement, recently, through the court, returning the lands to me, and describing the state government’s action as ‘illegal, unlawful, null and void’, since the land was not used for the purpose of public interests, but sold to private individuals,  the fact remains that we have a lot of  people in my situation who never have the wherewithal to seek such justice,” he stated.

Chief Okwara, however, stated that the judgement and subsequent  return of the property to him will enable him to contribute his own quota to making Lekki community, a commercial hub.

“I think the state government should be thinking in that direction, too. Lekki is too strategic to be left in this parlous state. There is nothing wrong in making it a global commercial hub  where traders and business men all over the world can fly in, transact business, and leave. It should be able to have its own airport for easy entry and exit,” he added.

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