By Bianca Iboma

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has approved the land regularization for all the landed property owned by the Lagos State University (LASU) that have been encroached on by illegal occupants, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh has said.
Speaking at a stakeholder’s meeting held recently at the Faculty of Education Complex of LASU, he advised that all illegal property owners and encroachers on the university land to regularize such properties with the institution and assume the position of legal occupants as tenants with the university.
“Over the past years about 75 per cent of the land that belongs to LASU has been encroached on. This has stopped us from achieving what we want to achieve for our university. The goal and the mandate that the Lagos State government has given to LASU is that by 2020 it will be among the top five universities in the country and for us to do that we need to engage the issue of encroachment.”

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Bank-Olemoh who disclosed this at the stakeholders’ meeting held with leaders of community development associations and other key stakeholders in the area, however, urged affected illegal occupants to take advantage of the state government’s magnanimity and regularize their title deeds on the land.

‘’The decision of the state government to have them regularize their properties was informed by the resolve to follow the path of peace with the community members,” he said.
He appealed to the community members to tap into the process and urged them to cooperate with the state to make the entire process seamless as the government intends to ensure that the process is completed and not thwarted along the way.
He noted that government’s intention is not to demolish but regularize majority of the properties that have been illegally encroached upon, stressing that the level of encroachment at the Ojo campus of LASU was approximately 75 per cent, a situation hinders the development of the Institution.
The special adviser noted that by December 18, officials of the state government and LASU would be visiting the affected houses with a view to placing on them notices on the need for the occupants to regularize their properties.
He said that to become a bona-fide LASU tenant, an illegal occupant is expected to log on unto llrp.lasu.edu.ng and enter their VBI number and pass code wherein they are expected to upload and update all personal information as well as pay the registration fee of N100, 000.
“Fees can be paid online or in the alternative one can print an invoice from the portal with a view to paying directly at the bank. It is important to stress that this registration fee of N100, 000 will be deducted from the final registration fees upon the completion of the regularization process. Again, under no circumstance should the fees be paid in cash to anybody,” Bank-Olemoh.
He stressed that any property that is not registered or regularized by the September 30, 2018 deadline will be repossessed by the state government adding that upon the regularization exercise, annual land use charges and rental fees would be payable to the state government and LASU respectively.
Vice Chancellor of LASU, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun described the move as a step by Governor Ambode to pursue lofty initiatives that will further signpost LASU as an institution of international standard and a citadel of learning.