The Senior Pastor of the Omega Power Ministry, Chibuzor Chinyere, has expressed displeasure over the demolition of a section of the church located along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Lagos by officials of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority.
The demolition which was carried out on Wednesday was said to be meant for development purposes.
In a video obtained by PUNCH Metro, pupils of the church’s free school were seen displaced outside the premises of the demolished building, while some of them were being consoled by their teachers.
A mild drama had ensued between some of the church members and officials of LAMATA who were unperturbed by the resistance put up by the church as they continued with the demolition.
While the confrontation was going on, the cleric raised the alarm on the development via his Facebook page, citing the conditions of the beneficiaries of the free school affected by the demolition.
He wrote, “Happening Now. Lagos State Government demolishing OPM free schools in Lagos State. A free school for orphans and children of widows. Let the tears of the orphans and widows begin to speak.”
Speaking with newsmen at the site of the demolition, the pastor noted that the compensation being offered by the government did not match the cost of the building.
The pastor denied knowledge of having appointed some persons to negotiate on behalf of the church.
According to him, the demolished parts of the church were worth about N900m, and what the government was offering was meagre compared to the value.
He said, “I am the General Overseer of Omega Power Ministry. It is either the church lawyer, Roselyn Tokunbo, or myself who has the authority to negotiate.
“Development is good, but pay adequate compensation and not give a peanut of N120m and you want to hijack a property of N900m. It is pure wickedness.”
Also speaking, counsel for the church, Francis Ogbonnaya, alleged that the person who had been negotiating with LAMATA was unknown to the church.
“The person who gave them that (document) does not represent the church. I don’t even know how she got there. That’s the point but she has no authority to transact on behalf of the church,” he said.
Reacting to the church’s claim, the Head of Corporate Communication for LAMATA, Kola Ojelabi, noted that the demolition was necessary for the development of the corridor.
He stressed that the compensation being offered the church was a reflection of the depreciated value of the land.
“The land belongs to the government and since the government has revoked the land, we are paying for the value of the building on the land.
“We have not had any issue like this since we started all our transport projects. So, I believe that the amount that we offered, N123m, is just enough for the property we are acquiring for our project,” Ojelabi said.