The Lagos State government has issued a demolition warning to the owner of the $200 Landmark Beach Resort, a popular tourist destination, since it obstructs the proposed path of a 700-kilometer coastal road connecting the state with Calabar.
Paul Onwuanibe, 58, told CNN that he received notice in late March to leave his multimillion-dollar beach resort because it was going to be demolished in seven days.
According to Onwuanibe, the Landmark property, which is valued at more than $200 million, is home to over 80 businesses and directly supports over 4,000 jobs. The corporation also states that it pays more over N2 billion in taxes annually.
Considered one of Nigeria’s premier tourist destinations, the beach resort welcomed over a million domestic and international guests in the previous year.
Onwuanibe clarified that he bought the land in 2007, long before the plans for the coastal highway were developed, and that he was left feeling conflicted when the demolition notice was received, which is also why he filed for compensation.
“Those who provide the funding necessary for cities like this to function effectively will be extremely concerned about the proposed demolition of the beach resort. It will be a serious threat to outside investment in the state and, more significantly, to individuals who are already in the state and are attempting to accomplish things.”
“Thirty percent of the eighty to ninety million dollars we’ve spent building this ecosystem was on the beach. Thus, everything for which we are still making loan payments would vanish,” Owunibe bemoaned.
According to Onwuanibe, investors in the Landmark Group, both foreign and domestic, are thinking of selling their holdings if the beach resort—which has a basketball court, volleyball court, beach soccer field and mini golf course—is demolished.
“The entire ecosystem is at risk and severely damaged without the beach.”
He continued, “I have had numerous panic calls from both local and foreign investors, as well as from debt lenders in our area, threatening to shut us down since they believe this is critical to our continued existence as a company.”
Prior to this, the Lagos State Government declared that it will begin tearing down any “illegal” buildings along the proposed Lagos-Calabar coastal highway route.
The owners of the impacted physical structures and other properties falling under this category received removal notices from the State Government.
The notice disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Works, in collaboration with the Lagos State Government, had released announcements on March 15 and 16, 2024, outlining the construction of the 103km segment of the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
A portion of the notice, signed by Somolu O, deputy director of the Development Matters Department, states, “I am directed to inform you that your property which is a two-story floor falls within the right-of-way alignment of the project by 10.4 metres.”
