Says Dangote paid N65 million to land owners
Gboyega Akinsanmi
Lagos State Government on Thursday said it had approved the sum of N740 million to compensate host communities for the parcel of land acquired for the development of the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ).
The state government added that Dangote Group currently developing petrochemical plant, gas project, fertilizer and refinery projects in the zone had paid land owners the sum of N65 million.
The State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Prince Rotimi Ogunleye, disclosed this at a news conference he addressed alongside other members of the State Executive Council yesterday.
At the news conference, the commissioner said the state Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, approved N740 million for host communities of Parcel B comprising Yegunda, Abomiti and International Airport site.
He added that Ambode approved the compensation to demonstrate his commitment “to engender a sustainable cordial relationship between the host communities and investors in the LFTZ.
Since he assumed office, Ogunleye explained that Ambode had seriously and holistically addressed the salient need “to compensate the host communities. Remarkable progress had been recorded in that regard.”
He said the state government continued “to engage the host communities ever since the LFTZ project started in 2004, noting that the engagement principally centered on the need for the communities to recognise the multiplier effects of the project in terms of employment generation and the value to be added to the socio-economic lives of the people.
The commissioner said already, modalities were being put in place to ensure hitch-free payment of the approved N740 million, adding that the payment would be effected with immediate effect.
Ogunleye said the compensation exercise “is a continuous process. N65 million was paid early this year for land owners affected by the ongoing Dangote projects which included petrochemical plant, gas project, fertilizer and refinery project capable of refining 650,000 barrels of oil per day.
Before now, he said, the host communities of the 3,000 hectares of land housing the LFTZ development agency, a company jointly owned by the state government and a consortium of Chinese investors, were heavily compensated.
He said more land owners “will be compensated in due course at the end of verification and valuation exercise.”
The commissioner thus restated the commitment of this administration “to community social responsibility (CSR) and its readiness to continue to heed the yearnings of our people in the areas covered by the LFTZ and its complementary projects.
“I also need to assure both local and foreign investors that all our projects in the corridor are fully on course and as an administration, we are fully committed to them. At this time of economic downturn, our state as the nation and subSaharan economic hub is providing, this investment platform with huge potentials is the best destination for direct investment.
“We are providing appropriate road infrastructure to ease the operations of investors in the zone and we will continue to sustain the friendly operating environment that now subsists,” Ogunleye said.
