Osborne flooding: Developer denies building on canal, high-tension line

A house developer has denied allegations that he built on a canal and high-tension line, or carried out construction without approval in Osborne Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, describing the claims as a personal dispute over a gate.

Managing Director of Kenshad International Group Limited, Ken Ukaoha, who said his company operates under a Federal Government joint venture/public-private partnership (JV/PPP) arrangement based on a Build, Operate and Transfer model, alleged that a neighbour with whom he had a longstanding disagreement over the opening of a second gate near his transformer was behind the accusations.

Speaking during a tour of the estate and the canals in question, the developer said he had been in Osborne for 19 years, having constructed the estate’s entrance in 2006 for the Federal Government. He added that his company had undertaken several road and drainage projects in the estate at no cost to residents.

According to Ukaoha, Osborne is served by two separate canals — Dolphin Canal and Ilubirin Canal — which are not connected but discharge into the lagoon through the estate.

“The Dolphin Canal goes from Dolphin to Osborne and then to the lagoon, while the Ilubirin Canal comes from Ilubirin to Osborne. They are not linked anywhere,” he said.

He explained that the Federal Government and Lagos State deliberately kept the canals separate to prevent flooding from spreading between the two areas.

Ukaoha insisted that the canal passing through his property was not connected to the Dolphin Canal, which he identified as a major source of flooding in Osborne.

“The canal in question that goes through my estate is not connected to anywhere. It absorbs water from Ilubirin, not even Osborne. Whenever the water in Ilubirin rises, that canal takes it. That is why Ilubirin is not flooded like this place,” he said.

The developer said Osborne, like many parts of Lagos, was built on low-lying, sand-filled land that continued to settle, causing roads and infrastructure to sink.

He said the flooding problem became more pronounced about four to five years ago, following an increase in high-rise buildings and pressure on existing infrastructure.

“It is not rocket science. This lagoon comes all the way from Ogun State. If you don’t block it, whenever there is water, it will still come back here,” he said.

Ukaoha said the lasting solution was to construct a reservoir system equipped with industrial pumps to drain water from the estate into the lagoon while preventing lagoon water from flowing back.

He disclosed that his company had submitted a proposal for a reservoir measuring three, four or five metres to the estate association, based on a model used by Lagos State in Ikoyi.

However, he said the proposal was put on hold because of concerns about the cost of operating industrial pumps.

“The government has already offered to solve it. The community refused, saying they don’t have money to run an industrial pump. I told them to go and solve their problem. I am not the only person here,” he said.

He added that the new chairman of the estate’s Board of Trustees had agreed to revisit the proposal in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Housing.

Ukaoha said the Federal Ministry of Housing had mandated his company to clean the canal behind his property, which he claimed was heavily silted, with mud reaching up to 10 metres deep.

He disclosed that his company spent N60 million on the exercise this year and N100 million last year, adding that each long-reach excavator cost about N1 million daily.

“This year, we paid N60 million. We used long excavators. Each long excavator charges us N1 million daily. Last year, we spent N100 million. The estate has not contributed N1,000,” he said.

According to him, the company obtains clearance from Lagos State environmental officials before every cleaning exercise, while the Federal Ministry of Housing also informs the estate management.

“I have been maintaining this canal for over six years. We clean from our own side. I cannot clean the other side because it is not my responsibility. It is either the people who live there or the management,” he said.

On road construction, Ukaoha said the estate had completed its portion of a road project before his company took over and extended the work to the end at no cost to residents.

He said the plan was to remove the existing interlocking pavement, hand it over to the estate and reconstruct the road.

“This second road I am doing for them, free, is not a contract. My intention was to finish, remove the interlocking, give it to the estate, then do a fresh road entirely,” he said.

He, however, said work was suspended following a disagreement over a borehole pipe allegedly laid across the road by a resident without approval from the Lagos State Water Board.

Ukaoha said an excavator damaged the pipe during construction, prompting the owner to demand repairs.

“We said we cannot repair it because anytime this road has a problem, they will have to break the road to repair the pipe. If you own a house here, you are supposed to do a borehole on your own side,” he said.

He also faulted the estate association’s demand for a scope of work, arguing that the project involved upgrading an existing road rather than constructing a new one.

Ukaoha traced the disagreement with his neighbour to 2023, saying the matter was resolved at Dolphin Police Station, where both parties allegedly agreed to share the setback.

He claimed that the neighbour returned this year, allegedly accompanied by police officers, removed his interlocking pavement and forced open a new gate close to his transformer.

“You cannot open a gate where you have one metre setback from a transformer. This is like zero metre from the transformer. It is too close,” he said.

According to him, the neighbour should have consulted him before opening the gate, which would have allowed the transformer to be relocated to create a safe distance.

“If he knew he wanted to open this gate, he should have called me like a neighbour, and we would have shifted the transformer to give at least two to three metres gap,” he said.

He alleged that the gate was opened a day after the Deputy Governor’s town hall meeting in the estate.

Ukaoha, who said he was in London at the time and returned two days before the interview, denied disrespecting the Deputy Governor during the visit.

He said nobody was inside his property when the Deputy Governor arrived, insisting that the absence of anyone at the site explained why the gate could not be opened.

On allegations that he built too close to a high-tension line, Ukaoha said the physical planning authorities prescribed a 25-metre setback, which he claimed his company complied with.

He said the Federal Government had initially proposed 24 housing units for the project, but Lagos State reduced the number to 12 because of the high-tension line.

“Federal Government proposed 24 units. Lagos State said no because of high tension, that we should do only 12 units. And that is what we have done. From high tension to this house is 25 metres. We are on the same line with Lagos State,” he said.

He challenged his accuser to compare the setbacks of both properties from the canal, alleging that the neighbour’s fence was closer to the waterway.

“Check his fence from there to the canal. And check the one I built from there to the canal. The man is sitting on a two-metre setback from the canal. Go and bring a tape,” he said.

The developer also said Lagos State building approval and environmental officials regularly visit his site, inspect construction materials and take samples for laboratory tests.

“We have never done anything wrong or illegal to undermine the authority of Lagos State. We paid our dues to the Federal Government. We paid Lagos State for physical planning,” he said.

Ukaoha said he was not seeking any financial or other benefits from the government or estate management, but wanted to clear his name and that of his staff.

“I am not making any demand from anybody. I am only trying to clear my name. I have investments here. The more the infrastructure improves, the more the value of the estate increases,” he said.

He added that the Federal Government was working with the new estate management, the Ministry of Environment and Lagos State to deepen the canal and find a lasting solution to the flooding before the next rainy season.

He expressed optimism that the new estate management would revisit the canal project, which he claimed was rejected by the previous administration.

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