Lagos Explains Removal Of Dowen College Footbridge After Lami Phillips’ Censure || GistOnlinesNg Report

The Lagos State Government on Wednesday reacted after concerns where raised in the media over the removal of the footbridge built by Dowen College along Bisola Durosinmi-Etti Road, Lekki Phase 1.
Singer, Lami Phillips-Gbadamosi, had yesterday expressed her displeasure on the development via her Instagram page as she shared a video of government officials preparing to demolish the structure.

According to her, the school received a permit from the government to build the bridge, but the government “suddenly decided that this was going to be a 2-way road”.

The Lagos State Govt

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Removal of Dowen College Foot Bridge: "The Facts And Falsehood" Dowen College is advised to convey students with school buses from the hostel to the school instead of exposing them to the traffic on the dual carriageway. #Disclaimer #ItesiwajuIpinleEko #LASG

9:42 PM - Sep 5, 2018 · Ikeja, Nigeria

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Singer, @lamiphillips , had yesterday expressed her displeasure on the development via her Instagram page as she shared a video of government officials preparing to demolish the structure. [@AkinwunmiAmbode]😁 pic.twitter.com/BbOYNRSkIK

— Official_GistOnlinesNg (@GistOnlinesNg) September 6, 2018

Reacting to this in a statement, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kehinde Bamigbetan, emphasised that the completion of the 2.1kilometres Trunk C dual carriageway, which the footbridge encroached on, was to decongest Admiralty Way and provide quicker access to the Ikoyi Link Bridge.

Mr Bamigbetan said the Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1 was conceived in the early 80s covering 1,046 hectares, stretching from the Lagos Lagoon to the Atlantic Ocean end of the Lekki-Epe Expressway cutting across the scheme.

“Due to the nature of the terrain and to reduce the incidence of flooding within the scheme; provision was made for the construction of primary drainage channel within the scheme. One of the primary drainage channel is along the Bisola Durosinmi-Etti Road which cuts across the scheme from the main entrance, Lekki Epe Expressway through the northern portion of the scheme to the Freedom Way.

“That Bisola Durosinmi Etti road is a dual-carriage way but one lane of the broad was constructed in the late 90’s while the other lane was not done due to paucity of funds then; however overtime, various forms of illegal development activities were identified within the unconstructed other lane as well as the setback abutting the primary drainage channel. These include erection of wire mesh fences, construction of car parks, shanties within the setbacks, development of outdoor bars and construction of footbridges over the open drainage channel,” he said.

Addressing the history of encroachment, the commissioner said an agency of the government, the New Towns Development Authority (NTDA) noticed the illegal construction of a footbridge by Dowen College in 2013 and promptly issued a contravention notice to the school on January 13, 2013 to stop it but the management defied the directive.

“Similar notices by other government agencies under the Ministry of Physical Planning & Urban Development were blatantly ignored with arrogant defiance. Rather than comply, Dowen College wrote letters of appeals seeking a concession to be allowed to sustain its illegality by authorising its encroachment of the government’s master plan. This was not acceptable and at no time did government permit the illegal construction,” Mr Bamigbetan said.

He said the government asked Dowen College to remove the offending structure to facilitate the completion of the dual carriageway and was compelled to spend public funds to do so when the school refused.