The right to revoke

Anyone living in the Lekki axis will agree with me that the inconveniences caused by trucks and trailers in developing sites are not appreciated and welcomed.

Nevertheless, the residents of Lekki identify with the agitation and fear of their neighbours that have been mandated to develop their lands or experience revocation of same.

The current public notice by the Lagos State Government Lands Bureau on the three (3) months ultimatum issued to allottees of Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1, Lekki to take physical possession of their plots of land or face revocation of their allocation has raised concern in the light of the provision of the Land Use Act.

The Land Use Act provides that the Governor has power to revoke right of occupancy for overriding public interest. Overriding public interest in the case of a statutory right of occupancy includes the following: The alienation by the occupier by assignment, mortgage, transfer of possession, sub-lease, or otherwise of any right of occupancy or part thereof contrary to the provisions of this Act or of any regulations made thereunder; the requirement of the land by the State, in either case for public purposes; Land required for mining purposes (oil pipelines).

But also, the overriding public interest in the case of a customary right of occupancy includes the following; the requirement of the land by the government for mining purposes, extraction of building materials and alienation by the occupier by sale, assignment, mortgage, transfer of possession, sub-lease, bequest or otherwise of the right of occupancy without the requisite consent.

Furthermore, A Certificate of Occupancy states that the property allotted must be developed within two (2) years. If this part of the provision is not complied with, it amounts to a breach of the contract and by virtue of section 28 (5) (a) of the Land Use Act, and the government has a right to revoke for non compliance with the terms of the contract.

Thus any allottee that freely consents to the terms and conditions of allocation, especially the aspect that specified that development must be carried out within two years of allocation have little choice but to comply with the directive.

The Lagos State Government has stated clearly that any allotee who refuses or fails to comply with the notice would have his/her allocation revoked and such plot of land re-allocated to those who genuinely require land for immediate housing development, only those who have finished paying for their lands and have genuine reasons for not developing them would have their lands back.

Looking at the position of the Law and content of C of O obtained by the property owner, one will be in no doubt of the rights of the Governor to revoke lands from those in violation of its instruction.

One key thing though is that the Lagos State Government is not looking into the quality of development and the impact on the residents. Lagos State, in 2009, had a fair share of building collapsing.

Reasons for several collapses of course are due to structural default and sometimes structures built hastily to beat the revocation. What sort of development can be done in three months? What the land owners are doing now is just maintenance (fencing and foundation) as oppose to the development that the government envisages.

This maintenance is not different from what the land owners have being doing to keep the properties. The land owners have been experiencing shortage of cash due to the fact that the Banks have denied them access to funds.

Eventually, some of them will use substandard materials to build their properties that may lead to loss of lives. The impact on the residents of Lekki too is not desired. It has worsened traffic as the trucks and trailers shipping the building materials obstruct the roads, making it inaccessible for commuters.

We appreciate the Government's effort to eradicate crime and ensure infrastructural development but the bigger picture should be that development must be technically sound and well planned.

The Lagos State Government should rather than instruct the land owners to develop within three months, request that they maintain regulated property maintenance.