The massive looting of Lagos state by the
Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has
reached monumental proportion. Tinubu whose companies recently conered a
multi billion road construction job in Ogun State, has in his pocket
all the juicy contract in all the Action Congress’ states.
In retrospect, it might be difficult to come to terms with the fact
that an individual could hold the entire south west to ransom. There
is no doubt that Tinubu has succeeded in buying the Lagos State
government, and he has done this using government funds.
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Whenever someone in Lagos begins to wonder where their 4th mainland bridge went, or what was the fate of the pipe-borne water project, or even where the schools and hospitals had vanished to, there is a silence that contains it all. The largest landlord in Lagos has done as he has pleased, and the rest of the state just has to deal with it. For instance: Number 4, Oyinkan Abayomi (formerly Queens) Drive, Ikoyi: A 5-bedroom detached house on one acre of land which was originally the Lagos State Governor’s guest house since 1979, but which now belongs to Tinubu. The certificate of occupancy of the property valued at N450 million was signed and released to him by Fashola in 2007 shortly after he assumed office.
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Whenever someone in Lagos begins to wonder where their 4th mainland bridge went, or what was the fate of the pipe-borne water project, or even where the schools and hospitals had vanished to, there is a silence that contains it all. The largest landlord in Lagos has done as he has pleased, and the rest of the state just has to deal with it. For instance: Number 4, Oyinkan Abayomi (formerly Queens) Drive, Ikoyi: A 5-bedroom detached house on one acre of land which was originally the Lagos State Governor’s guest house since 1979, but which now belongs to Tinubu. The certificate of occupancy of the property valued at N450 million was signed and released to him by Fashola in 2007 shortly after he assumed office.
Tinubu’s residence at 26 Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi was initially falsely
presented as Oando Plc Guest House. Later, he purportedly bought it
from Oando, and used public funds to rebuild and renovate it. The Lagos
State Government bought the property and paid an undisclosed sum to him
and thereafter gave the property back to him under the bogus Pension
Bill he signed to law shortly before he left office in 2007. The
property is worth over N600 million.
The annex of the Lagos State Guest House in Asokoro, Abuja was bought
by the State Government in 2006 for N450 million, purportedly to
protect the main house from security breach. Shortly after Tinubu left
office, the property was transferred to him under the pension plan he
signed into law before leaving office.
The 250-hectare land valued at about N35billion and strategically
located at the Ajah junction on Lekki Road was initially meant for a
General Hospital for the people of Eti-Osa Local Government but was
stolen by Tinubu and handed over to Trojan Estate Ltd – a company owned
by Deji and Wale Tinubu – to develop as Royal Garden Housing Estate at
the expense of the taxpayers of Lagos.
The 1,000 hectares of land valued at about N75billion located at
Lakowe near Abijo at Ibeju-Lekki Local Government and given to Lekki
Concession Company (LCC) which is partly- owned by Tinubu and Fashola
and being developed as golf course and housing estate by Assets and
Resource Management Ltd (ARM) as ADIVA project.
The prime land of 157 hectares with 2.5km of Atlantic beachfront
valued at about N10billion and stolen by Tinubu from the communities of
Siriwon, Igbekodo, Apakin, etc in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government and given
to Ibukun Fakeye – his crony to build a golf course and luxury villa
with little or no compensation to the villagers. In addition, Tinubu
paid $20million (N3billion) out of public treasury to Ibukun Fakeye to
commence the project in late 2006. Fashola has since released additional
funding for this project, which is not owned by the state government.
The 14-hectare Parkview Ikoyi Estate foreshore land reclaimed by Lagos State Government is now owned by Bola Tinubu.
While in office, he allocated to himself the former Strabag yard
beside the Lagos State Secretariat at Alausa, Ikeja. The property is now
being developed into a shopping mall as big as the Palms in Lekki. This
is public property brazenly stolen and now owned by Tinubu, aided by
Fashola.
The choice property at Lekki-Epe road on which he built and owns the
multi-billion Naira Oriental Hotel and the extension of multi-storey car
park beside it. Also, the multi-level recreation centre by Mobil in
Oniru Estate on Lekki-Epe road jointly owned with ARM and Tunji
Olowolafe. All these assets valued at over N25billion were obtained
without paying a kobo to the Lagos State Government.
Tinubu and Fashola sold the following prime Lagos properties to their
personal friend and front – Prince Dipo Eludoyin at very ridiculous
prices:
• The 3.8-hectare of land of Lagos State Fisheries office in VI (beside the Institute of Oceanography) valued at N3billion.
• The fishery landing jetty at Badore (where the Ilubirin fishermen were to be relocated) valued at N500million
• The entire Ogudu foreshore scheme initially earmarked for a low-cost housing scheme valued at N5billion
• The Ilubinrin housing estate (which used to house Lagos state civil servants and judges up till 2007) valued at N2.5billion.
• The former Julius Berger yard at Oko Orisan, Epe valued at N450million.
Tinubu raised a loan of N4.7billion on Eko Akete project for which nothing was achieved before he turned around to sell the property to his Chagouri friends of Chagouri & Chagouri and Hitech Construction Ltd at a ridiculously low price at the expense of the taxpayers of Lagos.
Tinubu applied to personally purchase the Federal Secretariat
building while in office. When he couldn’t get to buy it, he directed
Fashola to stop the eventual owner of the complex to develop it. The
complex is presently wasting away courtesy of the Lagos State
Government.
It took several months of horse trading and underhand payments before
Fashola could allow the new owners of 1004 flats to redevelop the
complex. Several other buyers of Federal Government properties and
developers of properties in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Government
Reservation Area Ikeja were forced to succumb to the outrageous demands
of Tinubu, Fashola, Commissioner Abosede and other officials of the
Lagos State Physical Planning Ministry and were made to pay ridiculous
amounts to private accounts before their redevelopments were approved.
Those who refused or were unable to pay could not develop their
properties. This is a major economic strangulation of property
developers and has contributed largely to the skyrocketing rent in
Ikoyi, VI and Lekki axis.
Tinubu converted all the plots of land where Lagos Polytechnic was
located at Ikosi near the old toll gate. He chased away the Polytechnic
in 2006 and went ahead to locate the choice plots to himself, his
cronies and political associates. The headquarters of Television
Continental (TVC), which is owned by him, is located there. He deprived
the youths of Lagos of decent education because of his greed.
Tinubu solely sold the prime land on Aboyade Cole, Victoria Island
which was recovered from some allotees, to UACN Properties Plc. The
amount of proceeds was shrouded in secrecy.
Eludoyin, fronting for Tinubu, built the estate directly opposite Goshen Beach Estate in Lekki area.
Tinubu’s wife, Remi Tinubu, built the massive New Era Foundation
youth camp at the junction of Eleko, off the Lekki-Epe express road,
with Lagos State funds and has now converted it to personal use.
Tinubu owns the Fara Park Estate and the Beach Wood Estate both in Lekki.
The Critical Care unit at the Lagos State University Teaching
Hospital (LASUTH) in Ikeja, built and equipped with state funds, is now
owned personally by Tinubu. He has put one Dr. Sikiru Tinubu, (a
supposed cousin of his) to run the outfit. It is run as a private unit
and the proceeds are pocketed by the duo. The unit charges its users
exorbitantly and most Lagosians can hardly afford to pay its high
charges. Much of the revenue is derived from fees paid by the State
Government for patients referred there by its General Hospitals.
Several prominent Nigerians in the judiciary, police, INEC, and other
sensitive agencies have obtained prime land from former Governor Tinubu
and incumbent Governor Fashola over the years without paying a kobo.
Many of them had turned around to sell the land to third parties at
substantial profit. Many top officials in the police, INEC and the
judiciary who participated in the 2003 and 2007 elections and tribunals
in states where Tinubu has interest were compromised with parcels of
free prime Lagos land and cash. If the Lagos State Land’s Bureau could
publish the names and identities of beneficiaries of land allotees from
2000 to date, the scandal that will result is better imagined. Gbenga
Ashafa, now a Senator, and Mrs. Awofisayo were the conduits through
which these acts were being perpetrated. Both were also personally
involved in various dubious land transactions on their own.
Prime land and properties have been used to pay off public officials
who are personally close to Tinubu and Fashola for “jobs well done” or
for being privy to sensitive information, notably:
(a) Dele Alake, former Commissioner for Information and Strategy, was
sold a whole house on Alexander Road, Ikoyi where he lived as official
quarters at a give-away price.
(b) Rauf Aregbesola, Osun State Governor, who was a former
Commissioner in Lagos as well as Muiz Banire, also a former
commissioner, got detached houses at Ladoke Akintola Street, GRA Ikeja
for their “good job” while serving under Tinubu.
(c) Yemi Cardoso and Wale Edun, both former commissioners, were sold
houses on Iru Close, and another location in old Ikoyi at give-away
prices by Tinubu.
How can this one be true? I only know that LASPOTECH use to be at Ikosi and now all the place is dotted with fine fine mansions. Can one be man involved in all these and yet nobody is making noise?
ReplyDeleteThis info is priceless. Where can I find out more?
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