Lagos State Government, yesterday, pledged that residents and businesses along the Bonny Camp to Eleko, whose properties are within the Right-of-Way for the 132KVA electricity transmission and gas pipeline projects, would be compensated.

Supervising Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Abdulhafiz Toriola, and Permanent Secretary, Kamal Olowoshago, stated this, yesterday, during the second stakeholders’ meeting with the affected residents, including members of the host communities, traditional rulers, utility service providers, private sector developers, and others.

They both maintained that the state government is committed to executing the project with a human face, as all affected houses will be properly enumerated before the project kicks off to avoid issues with compensation.

Olowoshago, represented by a Director in the Lands Bureau, Olawale Ojikutu, said that professional property valuers would be deployed for the evaluation, while the government would pay compensation even if the owners of the buildings do not have approved planning documents.

On his part, Toriola stated that the primary objective of the stakeholders’ meeting is to raise awareness among stakeholders about the right of way, inform them of how it will affect them, and gather their feedback to ensure the smoothness of the project.

Toriola, who, however, revealed that the projects would take 18 months, pleaded that the residents should cooperate with the officers during the project, saying that if they have any issue or challenges, they should feel free to approach the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Lands and Physical Planning for it to be addressed.

Meanwhile, the forum provided an opportunity to review progress since the first stakeholders’ meeting, address technical, environmental and planning considerations, and further strengthen collaboration towards the seamless delivery of the projects.