LEKKI GARDENS/ FORESHORE WATERS LIMITED GREATER PART OF OUR PROBLEMS – OSBORNE RESIDE

 

Residents of Osborne foreshore Phase 11, on Tuesday complain about the activities of Lekki gardens/ Foreshore Waters Limited and other Developers in the area who are violating the building permits given to them.

They made the complaint during the stakeholders meeting, as well as the presentation on the review of the Approval Order for Osborne Foreshore Residential scheme ll at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja Lagos

Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Osborne Foreshore 2, Sir Steve Omojafor OON, thanked the State Government for coming to the aid of the residents and stakeholders in appreciating the need for a reversal of the Approval Order now in place. He urged the Developers to be mindful of the need to balance the sanctity of life and their quest for financial aggrandizement. 

The Chairperson of Osborne Foreshore Residents Association, Chinwe Ezenwa-Mbah esq in her submission enjoined the Government to consider the submission for reversal by the Residents Association which came about after engaging the Consulting firm of MOA Town Planners, who made an emperical study of the Estate and conducted an Environmental Audit of the Estate before coming up with their suggestions.

She stated that the overbuilding and over density by Lekki Gardens and other Developers like Foreshore Waters Limited is causing more harm than good to the Estate, as their actions and activities are affecting the houses of other residents in the Estate.

She said that there is need for Government to take a second look at the 2013-2033 Approval Order so as to limit the damaging situation.

“Many of us bought into the Osborne Foreshore Estate because we were told that the place was design as a low population residential area. We did not know that a time will come when this area will be turned into a glorified slum caused by the activities of certain Developers “.

“When you come into an existing estate and you are starting to pile and its damaging and or breaking up your neighbor’s foundations as well as against the Approved plan given to you in the name of financial and investment development, is that right? She quipped.”

 Mrs Ezenwa-Mbah, further said that whenever such structures are being put in place an environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is normally carried out in order to ensure that the environment is well taken care of to the benefit of other users.

She lamented that the cost of Infrastructural development in the Estate is enormous to the extent to get things right, the roads in Osborne Foreshore 11 need to be piled in order to sustain it.  That we should be mindful of over population as the demography of every area is necessary for adequate planning. We cannot sacrifice human life in the alter of commercial investment.

“The terrain of Osborne is soft and our roads needed to be piled too in order to sustain it. But rather than do the right thing, we are building in the name of investment while our property rates are going down because we are doing things wrongly.”

“There is corruption all over the world but the difference with us here in Nigeria is that ours is done with impunity with disregard to others.”

“Some of us used our life savings in getting these properties and building decent home for ourselves and our children, we will not sit down and do nothing while our properties are being destroyed in the name of commercial interest. We thank the government for harkening to our cries and reviewing this Approval Order because it will bring sanity at the end of the day. You cannot have permission to build 28 apartments and then you go and turn it to 84 apartments, No, things must be done correctly”.

she appealed to the Government to partner with the Residents Association in monitoring and implementation.  She said it will be an effort in futility when there is no monitoring.