The president General of Low and Medium Housing Estates in Lagos State, the Onigbanla of Gbanla in Oyo State, his Highness Taiwo Abiodun Olabanji has called on the Maroko evictees who are planning to take further legal action against the Lagos State government to unite with their leaders that are calling for out of court settlement.
His counsel followed a recent publication in The Guardian by the leaders of the landlords’ association, vowing to file fresh suits.
The chairman of Ilasan Jakande Estate Compensated Landlords Association (IJECLA), Tunde Ariwayo, told The Guardian that even though they withdraw all the cases in court, his association is still going to court against any action to relocate the Maroko evictees resettled in Ilasan Housing Estate.
“We must go to court on the matter. It is very urgent to win the case in court. We are going to call a press conference to restrain those elements among our community from taking further action without recourse to the group,” he stated. He stressed that IJECLA is not a party to any out of court settlement.
Speaking on the Ilasan Housing Estate issue, Olabanji said: “Out of court settlement is the best. You cannot win against the government. Moreover, you do not have the money to fight the government and the government is waiting for us. So, settling out of court is best.
“The government is using double standards and divide and rule, and the people are not ready to come together. Some of the residents are with the local government, some are with the landlords’ association.
“There should be no difference between the Landlords Association and the Community Development Association (CDA). Let me be honest with you, that place is a resettlement centre.
“Let us sit with the government. The other time, they wanted to take them to Sangotedo, but look at the environment there. The houses there are unfit for human habitation, and the government is not ready to do anything about it. Let the government tell us their plan for the people.” One of the leaders of Maroko Breeds, Mr Femi Arowolo pleaded with the government to develop Ilasan as they developed Ijeh.
“It was the same way they built Jakande Housing Estate that they built Ijeh before they demolished the estate and rebuilt the place for the residents of the estate.”
Another community leader, Mr Olusegun Maromitan, said that the solution to the accommodation problem in the estate is for the government to regenerate the estate or to monetise its allocation based on the value of the land and the cost of building materials for a befitting accommodation for the evictees.
