President Bola Tinubu has reiterated that the construction of houses and other structures on setbacks along highways will not be tolerated. Speaking at the inauguration of Phase 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project on Saturday, Tinubu cautioned developers against erecting structures on setbacks around the highway.
“Let me, at this stage, warn all developers. The Federal Government will enforce the setbacks. If not for anything else, it is for the interest of our nation,” Tinubu said during the commissioning of the first 30 kilometres of the highway in Lekki, Lagos.
He explained that setbacks, the distance a building must maintain from a road or property line, typically ranging from three to nine metres, must be respected. He warned that any structures built on such areas would be demolished without compensation.
“Development without approval will not be compensated (if demolished). We have gazetted and published the setbacks. We are going to enforce it rigidly in every way possible,” he added.
The president also urged citizens to preserve the newly commissioned infrastructure. “As we celebrate today, let us reflect on our collective responsibility to preserve our infrastructure. The government can build roads, but it is up to us citizens to maintain them. Motorists and residents alike are encouraged to utilise this opportunity effectively,” Tinubu said.
In his remarks, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, clarified that the Federal Government did not destroy any property belonging to Landmark Africa during the highway’s construction.
“The Landmark infrastructure is intact. What was removed was their encroachment on our front shoreline. The Supreme Court ruled that 250 metres from the shoreline belong to the Federal Government, so we didn’t do that,” Umahi said.
Umahi further announced that the president has instructed governors whose states host major Federal Government projects to provide a minimum of 500 metres from the edge of the carriageway, which will form part of the tolling arrangement.
He noted that, by law, the Federal Government is not required to compensate for shanties along the road but revealed that Tinubu had directed compensation be paid regardless.
