Diaspora investors demand legal backing for coastal highway diversion
Nigerians in the diaspora affected by the alleged diversion of the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in the Okun Ajah area of Lagos State have called on the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to publicly disclose the legal documents that justify the diversion of the project from its 2006 gazetted alignment.
The PUNCH reported on Monday that the minister, during a stakeholder meeting on Sunday, demanded that the Chief Executive Officer of Winhomes Global Services Limited, Stella Okengwu, publish the detailed financial records of diaspora investors from whom she purportedly raised $250m.
Umahi also remarked, “There is one Mrs Ifeoma, who visits African restaurants in America and pays people small amounts of money, claiming she invested $250 million. If she indeed collected $250 million, those who received payments should hold her accountable, as nothing has materialised on the land except for a gatehouse.”
Okengwu who represented the Nigerian investors in a statement she signed and seen by PUNCH Metro on Monday, however, requested the legal authorisation that led to the realignment of the road.
Okengwu also denied bribing individuals in restaurants in America, describing it as not only false but represented a serious defamation of her character.
“The minister’s demand for me to publish the financial account for these investments is a thinly veiled attempt to obscure the diversion of the Lagos-Calabar Highway in Okun Ajah. The minister must first provide legal authorization from the President, the National Assembly, or any state assembly supporting his decision to divert the road in Okun Ajah,” she stated.
Okengwu further dissociated the diaspora group from a woman who reportedly accused the minister of sexual harassment, while she demanded a retraction.
PUNCH Metro reported that the group under the aegis of the Association of Nigerian Diaspora Investors, called on relevant authorities to intervene and save their $250m investments affected by the Lagos-Calabar Highway project.
The investors, who are mostly based abroad, alleged that their properties had been illegally demolished despite having all the necessary documentation and approvals.
The association, in a letter to President Bola Tinubu, stated that the demolition was carried out without prior notice or engagement, leaving many of them victimised and abandoned.
The letter, which was signed by Olubokun-Basorun, Femi Adekoya, Arinze Onwumelu and Kimberly Stark, on behalf of over 500 affected investors, said their fate was shattered by an unwarranted demolition of their investments, executed without prior engagement or legal notification.
