The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria FAAN has advised all illegal occupants to relocate from airport lands across the country for security and safety reasons to avoid a recurrence of the Ajao estate demolition in Lagos state.
FAAN, in a statement by the acting general manager, of corporate affairs, Faithful Hope-Ivbaze said this is not the first time the Authority has issued warnings to the illegal occupants to vacate the airport land.
Giving clarification on a viral online video where some houses were seen demolished and owners accusing govt of carrying out unlawful exercises, the aviation agency said the 13 houses demolished posed grave dangers to the operations of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport as the area was acquired by the federal govt for public use through the lands acquisition ordinance of official gazettes in 1944,1972 and 1975 respectively.
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FAAN explained that In 2000, it noticed some encroachments within its acquired land in Lagos, and a committee was set up to investigate and compel those encroaching to cease and desist from such actions but in 2008 some residents under the aegis of “Runview Cooperative” approached the Authority for regularisation of their stay on the land.
To avoid a situation of wanton damage and colossal losses, the Authority said the present administration inaugurated a “Regularization Committee on FAAN Encroached Lands and Property ” to find ways of identifying and regularizing only those properties located in positions that do not pose a direct and critical challenge to airport safety and Security.
FAAN said publications and advertorial jingles were done in the media to warn people of the risks in purchasing and building on restricted aviation land
But in the committee’s report submitted in 2022 out of 254 buildings evaluated, 220 buildings were recommended for regularisation, as they posed no direct security and safety challenges to the Airport.
(Editor: Ena Agbanoma)
