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 cornered 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.
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.
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