Ogun denies plan to demolish civil servants’ estate

Residents of the Laderin Workers Estate, Abeokuta, numbering about 300, who now risk being ejected from their homes by the state Urban and Regional Planning Board yesterday raised alarm over what they said was a shocking move by the authority.

The agency had, on Tuesday, served contravention notice on owners and occupants of the workers’ estate and threatened to pull down the buildings after seven days.

“If you do not dispute the contravention, you are ordered to restore the land to its original state by removing the said contravention. If you fail to remove the said contravention within seven days from the date of service of this notice, the said contravention shall be demolished after service of demolition notice on you,” the URPB notice said.

The home-owners, reacting through the Community Development Association (CDA) Wednesday sent the state governor, Ibikunle Amosun a petition over the contravention notice served on them.

The resident, in the petition addressed to the governor through the state Head of Service, urged Mr Amosun to intervene and save them from the bulldozers of government agencies.

But the state government Thursday denied any demolition plan, saying no structure has been earmarked for demolition in the estate. The government, in a statement by the Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Housing, Kunle Ayo-Vaughan,

said “the contravention notice served on the allotees of Laderin Workers’ Estate is not an intention to demolish but a wakeup call to landlords/landladies in the area to regularise necessary documents.” The petition signed by the CDA chairman, Tunde Odusole and secretary, Wale Adebowale, reads partly: “It might interest Your Excellency to note that workers started moving into the estate in September, 2007. The estate is occupied by various cadres of civil servants from the low to the high, and they have been living peacefully ever since then.

“A lot of the workers have paid fully their loans. Many others had spent fortunes on their houses with their hard earned salaries. Some have even retired and are living peacefully with their families.

“Your Excellency, the action of the Urban and Regional Planning Board at this particular time when this administration you lead is desirous of providing mass housing for the ordinary masses and the workers in the state, is to say the least, unfortunate.

“We have nowhere to go with our families. Many of us have toiled and laboured for Ogun State government for years and the only consolation we have is that we now have roofs on our heads.” The estate was built by the state Ministry of Housing before it was allocated to the civil servants.

Unwanted alterations

Mr Ayo-Vaughan said there is a need for the allotees to perfect their documents, with regards to the buildings allocated to them and the extensions made in compliance with the rules of the state Urban and Regional Planning Board.

He added that the documents include their signed deed of assignment, which serves as Certificate of Ownership; letter of allocation; evidence of payment; application forms to be collected from the board and an approved prototype drawing from the Ministry of Housing.

Mr Ayo-Vaughan said although the buildings constructed by his ministry were given approval by the Urban and Regional Planning Board, extensions and alteration of the houses without approval negates the law of the board.

He then called on the affected allotees to submit all the necessary documents to the board, through the ministry of housing, to ensure proper documentation and physical development in accordance with the master plan.