Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has assured residents of Ilashe, Ibeshe, Takwa Bay and adjoining beach communities of government’s commitment to restoring order, improving infrastructure and unlocking the tourism potential of the corridor.
Speaking during an inspection tour, the Governor acknowledged both the challenges and opportunities in the beach communities.
“First, the challenges that people face in this area, but also to see the enormous opportunity that we also have in this corridor.”
The Governor inspected electricity projects, including a step-down transformer handed over at Kuti School, where he highlighted efforts to restore power supply.
“You’ve seen that everything that is now remaining is really just the connection to the various houses, various homes and facilities that we have here. At Kuti School, there was an official handover of the step-down transformers to them. So we’re bringing life back into this community.”
He cautioned against violations of planning laws and directed the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LABSCA) to begin enumeration and regularisation of properties.
“There’s been a lot of abuse of the physical planning approval. There are set lines that are known, that have been graded. You should not exceed certain building lines and the kind of things you also need to build. That’s why we brought you all out here.”
Sanwo-Olu stressed that the government would act inclusively to protect residents and encourage investment in tourism.
“Final decision will be inclusive of how do we regularise? How do we give titles? How do we ensure that also the locals are not disadvantaged? How do we settle everybody? And how do we ensure that the tourism potential that this whole stretch has… how can government be a strong enabler for that to happen?”
On security and amenities, the Governor said discussions would continue with stakeholders to ensure better facilities.
“Maybe we still need to speak more with the Nigerian Police so that they have proper repair. … What kind of hospital facilities do we also need to provide? What kind of shopping facilities? Supermarkets, fire station, pharmacy, fuel station. It’s a whole full work-life experience.”
He concluded by assuring that irregularities would be corrected to create a fair outcome for all parties.
“This trip has opened our eyes. I know that as a government, we cannot fold our arms and not intervene, not support, and not regulate. … It’s not a warning, but it’s a note of caution and information to a lot of people that also don’t think they won’t be here. The government will also correct it so that we can come up with a win-win situation.”
