The last time residents of Ijegun-Egba and Satellite Town communities in the Oriade Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Lagos State witnessed a major development was during the regime of Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (Retd.) when he was the Sole Administrator of the state.
But recently, residents in the area can have a sigh of relief after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu promised that his administration would address some of the infrastructural deficit in the area.
This is coming after Neptune Prime on October 28, 2020, reported on the neglect of the area by the state government.
In late September this year, there have been signs that the state government will in earnest commence the rehabilitation of some of the roads as earth moving machines have been deployed to the area.
However, some of the residents and shop owners who did not follow the setback along the Buba Marwa Road will give up their property for demolition as well as the makeshift structures along the popular, Alakija – Navy Town Road.
According to Governor Imitini, Chairman of the Satellite Town Forum (STF) who spoke to our reporter on phone, the affected structures including residential houses as well as roadside shops needed to give way because the roads will be dualized to accommodate the free passage of articulated vehicles conveying petrol, diesel and gas along the Buba Marwa road daily including container trucks.
“The fact that while it is a welcome development to some it is not to others. Because the roads will be dualized and it will affect some of the Federal Government housing estates, especially those that did not follow the setback, the NITEL Estate and some of the houses in the Closes that the setback is not properly in alignment, so these houses have been affected,” he said.
The Chairman noted that during Forum’s visit to the Honourable Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Tpl Idris Okanla Salako in July, 2021, the state governor has authorized that payment of compensation should be made to those whose property was affected irrespective of documentation status also, the residents were given a seven-day notice of the demolition.
“Yes, they were duly informed. There was a town hall meeting that was held, and a notice of seven days was given to them and also based on the meeting with Honourable Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, he said the governor has pledged that he will compensate those whose houses were affected as a result of the dualization whether they have the document or not. But now no compensation has been made. All I know is that they have made a promise that they will compensate them.
“At a point, the land bureau in charge of data collection was on the ground, they took photographs of the affected houses including data of owners of the houses and shops. I just believe they are going to make use of it in terms of compensation. But if compensation is not coming that is where the STF will come up again. we will not keep quiet, we will cry out and ask the government to do the needful because it cannot just throw people out especially the residents in the government houses that way. One thing I know is that if you are asking for development it will affect some people,” he said. 
On the issue of citing tank farms and container terminals in the area, the chairman hinted that the Forum will continue its agitation in making sure that decisive steps are taken for the relocation of the two business activities in the community
“This has been part of our agitation pending when the tank farm should have been relocated and the container terminal. The road is too narrow for the articulated trucks so given that let them dualize the roads and more also create alternative routes for which we have given to them that they should look into but I think they just started with the dualization but let’s see whether,” he added.
Some of the residents whose property were affected refusing to grant our reporter interview said the notice given was inadequate for them to put in place the necessary arrangements but since the government has promised them to pay compensation they have no choice than to give up their property for the road projects.
Also, residents fear when the project fully commences having access from the community to other areas in the state will be cumbersome because from all indications works will commence simultaneously on the two major roads that link the community to the Lagos-Badagry expressway.
