Mr Olufemi Oyedele, an estate surveyor and valuer, is the Managing Director /Chief Executive, Fame Oyster & Company. In this interview with DAYO AYEYEMI, shares his views about the ongoing construction of 700km Lagos -Calabar Coastal Highway; the project ‘s economic prospect, and how government should handle the issues of right of way by genuine affected property owners, compensation and Environmental and Social Impacts Assessment Report.
WHAT is your reaction to the ongoing construction of Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway?
The ongoing construction of Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway is a welcome development. It will open up that corridor of Nigeria to physical development.
What is the prospect to the economy?
The prospects to the economy are multi-dimensional. One, is the ripple effect of the N1.06 trillion. Imagine the number of workers that will be employed directly and indirectly by the road project. Image the area of land that will be opened up and the dead capital that has prospect of being resurrected. Imagine the number of industries that will be located along the road, the number of houses that will be built along the road and the number of goods that will be brought to Lagos market through the road.
What is place of local construction companies in this type of project despite abundant engineering companies in the country?
Hightech Construction Ltd is a local construction company. Hitech Construction handled the construction of Lekki-Epe Expressway and the Pen Cinema Bridge at Agege, Lagos State. They are indigenous but not a new player in the Nigerian construction industry. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu that I know will not engage foreigners for a job that can be handled by indigenous contractors. Other indigenous engineering companies will be engaged because of the scope of work.
What do local construction companies lack in competing with their foreign counterparts and how they can brace up?
The indigenous contractors (local construction companies) lack adequate funding in competing favourably with their foreign counterparts. While foreign construction companies have access to fund, their local counterparts do not have adequate funding. To brace up, the Bank of Infrastructure or other commercial banks must be ready to assist local construction companies.
Attempt to secure the right of way (RoW) in Lagos for the super highway is already creating pains for residents as their houses are being demolished, while some property owners have received notices of evacuation from the government within seven days. How best can the state government handle this matter?
The right of way (RoW) in the case of Lagos to Calabar Coastal Road should not generate any debate. The best way government can handle the issue is to identify the properties which are affected by ROW, state the space affected and place values that will be paid as compensation. The owners will then be called to a meeting where settlement methods will be arranged in a negotiation table. After, the affected properties owners would have been compensated.
Don’t you think there is need for government to prepare and made public the Environmental and Social Impacts Assessment report of the project for citizens to see?.
It is the duty of the government to make public the sustainability report which is the environmental, social and economic impact assessment because it is a public funded project. Meanwhile, the members of the public also have the right to ask for the sustainability report of the project through the minister of works.
What advice do you have for the government and other stakeholders that the project is going to affect?
My advice for the government is that it should play the game according to rules. Government must engage estate surveyors and valuers to assess the worthiness of the properties on the right of way (R OW). The affected property owners should also engage their estate surveyors and valuers. The two parties can then come to a round table and discuss about “adequate compensation”. Compensation of genuine affected property owners must be paid before commencement of work. Anything short of this is illegal and bullying.
If government is to pay compensation to affected property owners, how will the government calculate the value?
The 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowers the estate surveyors and valuers to value the worth of assets in Nigeria. These assets include land and buildings (real properties). The government, in determining the vàlue to pay as compensation to affected property owners, must engagae practising estate surveyors and valuers and their list is with Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON), a legal arm of the Federal Government. The estate surveyors and valuers in government ministries cannot and should not determine the value to be paid as compensation because of bias or inequity – “Nemo ludex in cauda sua” (no one should be a judge in their own case).
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