Steve Agbota
Lagos State Government yesterday, stirred massive controversy claiming most waterfront property at the prestigious Banana Island.
This was even as the taskforce arrested Federal Government licenced dredgers and forcefully took over reclaimed lands.
Most of the arrested dredgers slept in the taskforce office in Alausa, while efforts to bail them by the leadership of dredgers association and other concerned stakeholders were rebuffed.
Inside sources alleged that the frontal infraction at Banana Island was spearheaded by a retired General (name withheld) who is also a former military Governor in the state who was said to have pulled all strings within the Lagos Government, which now instructed a special waterfront taskforce to dislodge dredgers in an ongoing reclamation site, which the former governor wants by all means and at any cost.
More worrisome to the dredgers association is the fact that certain waterfront cases are in court, saying the attempt was a clear signal that Lagos State Government is set to dislodge licensed operators and run them out of the state.
Executive Secretary, Nigerian Dredgers Association, Mr Richard Ntan, disclosed that illegal arrest and detention of his members by the Lagos Government and its waterfront taskforce is malicious, annoying and provocative, adding that the invasion at a legal dredging site by the state can be likened to land grabbing.
“ My association is studying the development and by this means notifying relevant structures of government to call the Lagos waterfront commissioner to order and set our arrested members free. We are law abiding citizens and doing our business within the ambits of the law, so if anyone has issues over a site, disputed or not, and to forcefully and brazenly arrest legitimate operators is undemocratic and will be challenged,” Ntan warned.
He further alleged, “ That the Lagos waterfront commissioner is misleading the Governor concerning the site, which the former military governor wants to grab through the use of the Lagos taskforce on waterfront, adding that searches conducted by the dredgers association revealed that the ex-governor was denied Federal Government permit on grounds of providing misleading information concerning the said controversial site and having failed in several attempts, decided to use Lagos State waterfront commissioner who is alleged to be his political son to push for a takeover and caring less what happens to innocent and legitimate DREDGERSfirms and their workers who are languishing behind bars.”