Indigenes and residents of Okun Ajah in the Eti Osa Local Government area of Lagos State have again condemned the planned diversion of the coastal road in the community from the alignment and gazetted portion.

They therefore passionately called on President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to ensure that the coastal road in the community is in concordance with the 2006 gazetted alignment.

The anger from the indigenes and residents of the town stemmed from the week’s announcement by the Minister of Works, David Umahi that the Federal Government would reroute the Okun Ajah section of the road.

The residents noted that rerouting the Costal road in Okun Ajah is not only a miscarriage of justice to those who adhered to and observed the road alignment but also a bad omen to other roads alignments in the country.

The residents explained that those who are affected by the new diversion of the road are those who acquired the necessary documents such as Certificate of Occupancy, Governor’s Consent and other necessary documents from the Lagos State Government.

The affected individuals were taken aback when, despite assurances at the last stakeholders’ meeting at Eko Hotel, Lagos, their properties were impacted by the highway construction.

The Minister of Works had assured them that their properties would remain unaffected as they were developed outside the gazetted areas designated for the project.

An indigene of the town, Yussuf Olatunji Odunuga said:” Since we got the excision for this village in 2006 under the then Governor Bola Tinubu, now President of Nigeria, there was an alignment for Coastal road and it was gazette.

” Everybody in the town knows that there is a Coastal road alignment, but some people went ahead to build on some parts of the alignment thinking that government would not come and construct the road in future,” he added.

The indigene also stated that, “now that it is the time for the construction of the road, the minister is trying to divert the road from the houses of those, who built on the alignment at the expense of those who adhered to the alignment.

” It is really unjust and confusing. Those who are affected now have the valid docents from the government while those who built on the Costal road do not,” Odunuga said (Daily Sun)