Why we’re against Ilubirin housing project in Lagos –Obanikoro

Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has revealed that safety and potential adverse environmental effects of the proposed Ilubirin housing project on the environment and the people were  his principal concerns and not ownership of the land.

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, had accused the minister of stopping workers on site by deploying soldiers therein.
Responding to the allegations by the governor, Obanikoro, in a statement made available to newsmen,  denied all the allegations by the Lagos State government.

The statement read in part: “My main concern is the safety and the potential adverse environmental effects of the project on the area and its immediate environ, as well as the general focus of development of our great state.

“This prompted me to seek the opinion of environmental experts on the Ilubirin project. The disturbing discovery is that none of them have seen the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Ilubirin project. Furthermore, the following observations were made across board:  There is a major concern that the project is more than likely to contribute to the major flooding challenges already being faced on the Lagos Island and Ikoyi area (along the Dolphin axis).

There is no information whatsoever, available, of the possible proposal for the construction of protection against sudden rise in water level for the Ilubirin project; one can only hope and assume.
“In addition, the poor maintenance culture and emergency management system in Lagos State pose significant concerns at this time of increasing and devastating impacts of global warming on coastal areas around the world.”


The minister stated also that high-voltage electricity transmission cables run through the Ilubirin land.
His words: “To mitigate the effect of the electromagnetic (EM) radiation from high-voltage electricity transmission lines on human beings living and working close to the lines, the former Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) mandated that any building constructed close to the lines must give right of way of 15m and 25m for 132kV and 330kV lines respectively.”

This poses another major challenge for the project regarding the safety and health of the proposed occupants.
“In addition to significant proximity of the larger part of the Ilubirin land to both roads and waterways, some part of the land seat directly under the 3rd Mainland Bridge.

“Arguably, not only are potential residents exposed to road traffic hazards, such as air and noise pollution,  they are also exposed to road accidents.  There is also the potent security challenges via access to the proposed estate from the lagoon.

“It is no surprise however, that the repressive propaganda skills of the governor and his party, the APC, was massively deployed for one obvious reason; their illegality.

“The original reclamation of the lagoon that created this particular strip of land at Ilubirin is illegal. The Nigerian Inland Waterway Act of 1997, sections 10, 11, 12 and 13 made this activity illegal without the approved consent of the Nigerian Inland Waterway Authority (NIWA).”

Source: Sunnewsonline