The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday ordered the stoppage of the demolition exercise going on at the Makoko community waterfront in the state.

Hon. Noheem Adams, who is the Chairman of the Ad-Hoc Committee set up by the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa made this known as he read out the resolution of the Committee shortly after the stakeholders’ meeting, which took place at the Lateef Jakande Auditorium.

It would be recalled that hundreds of displaced residents of Makoko had staged a protest at the Assembly last week over the demolition exercise.

The protest had created tension, which had led to the arrest of some activists who are currently undergoing trial.

Adams, who is the Leader of the House, said the 40-member parliament on behalf of the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Obasa directed that all ministries henceforth should stop work with all demolitions in Makoko, Oko-Agbon and Shogunro communities with immediate effect.

The lawmaker assured residents of the affected communities of full compliance with said order, just as he further assured that compensations would be paid to “all those whose properties have been demolished.”

“On behalf of the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa and on behalf of all 40 members of the House, we are directing that all ministries henceforth should stop work with all demolitions, I repeat, all demolitions in Makoko, Oko-Agbon and Shogunro communities should stop from today, all demolitions will start until further notice.

“That the taskforce that was constituted, we want to see the list of the taskforce because we want the residents to be duly involved and to be carried along. So we want to have the schedule of those task forces and the criteria for those that we are inviting.

“To the residents of Makoko, Oko-Agbon and Shogunro communities, as your representatives, we are giving you all assurances that they will stop demolitions henceforth and there will be compensations for all those whose properties have been demolished,” he said.

“So are you satisfied with the committee’s work, or are you not satisfied?” Adams asked the audience, who responded with full satisfaction, saying, “We are satisfied.”

Earlier, Hon. Stephen Ogundipe, a member of the Committee, who is also the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, in the course of interrogating the Chairman, Yaba Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Hon. Bayo Adefuye, emphasised the need for proper communication, saying that those you wanted to help must know the plan you have for them.

“The most important point is that there should be communication even if you are not going there physically. Those you want to help must know the plan you have for them,” Ogundipe said.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s Special Adviser on E-GIS and Urban Renewal, Dr Babatunde Olajide, who was also present, had said on Monday during a press briefing that the state government would compensate residents of Makoko whose properties had been demolished.

Dr Olajide further disclosed that Governor Sanwo-Olu had set aside $2 million dollars since 2021 for the redevelopment of the Makoko waterfront to meet international standards.

He stated that the state government was already working on a large water city project to redevelop the community, adding: “We have to do it witha  human face, we have been working on this since 2021.”

“All those people who have been affected have to be compensated, and we have the task force. We are in the process of enumeration, but the first thing to do is to save the people. It is better to be wary than to be late,” he said.

Some of the leaders of the communities who were present maintained that they were no longer interested in NGOs interfering in their affairs.

They agreed that they were capable of handling their issues, especially now that the State House of Assembly had intervened.

In his comment, Baale of Makoko, Shogunro, Iwaya LCDA, High Chief Yusuf Sagra said, “We are here to explain our petition to members of the House on what is happening in our communities, and we are happy that they have given us a word of peace, and we are satisfied.”

Also speaking, Chief Orioye Ogungbure said, “I’m happy over this deliberation. I didn’t expect it. If the government continues to go this way whenever people have grievances, it will be okay. This is democracy, our government should continue to listen to the people.”