Traders at the popular Computer Village in Lagos are currently disturbed by the reports of the termination of the multibillion-naira Katangowa project, which was awarded to Bridgeways Limited some years ago by the Lagos State Government.
While the Katagowa project was to facilitate the relocation of the tech market from its current site in Ikeja to the Agbado/Oke-Odo area of the State, the government last week announced that the contract had been terminated as far back as two years ago.
However, the traders in the market, who are the key stakeholders in the project and who have been told repeatedly to prepare for relocation to the new site, said neither the government nor the developers have communicated the decision to them.
Their concerns also stem from the claims that some dealers had made upfront payments to the developers and there has not been any discussion on how the money will be refunded.
We were not carried along
Speaking in an interview with Nairametrics on the development, the Chairman of the Computer Village Market Board, Chief Adebowale Soyebo, said:
- “I am the Chairman of the market board and as of today, no one has ever called us to a meeting to discuss anything like that.
- “No one has come to us to say the contract has been terminated. Both the government and the contractor have not said anything to us officially, we only read it in the news,” he said.
The Chairman noted that some traders in the market have paid to the disengaged contractor and an official communication of the contract termination would pave the way for the retrieval of the money. While Babatunde would not disclose how much has been paid to the developer by the traders, he said:
- “Some people bought forms, and some paid deposits for shops upfront. But they need to officially inform us for us to start discussing how to retrieve our money or whether the money will be transferred to a new developer.”
Another official of the market, who spoke with Nairametrics under the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak, said:
- “The government has not shown us any proof that they have terminated the contract. If you are terminating a contract you should carry us along as the key stakeholders. Now, how do we get our money? A lot of our members have paid but we don’t know how to get our money right now because they have not even said anything to us.
- “The same government brought this contractor to us and asked us to cooperate with them, now that they have terminated the contract, shouldn’t they come to us? They should come and tell us how we can get our money because that money cannot just go like that.”
When Nairametrics reached out to the CEO of Bridgeways Global Project Ltd., Mr Jimmy Onyemenam to speak on the payments claims made by the market dealers, he said the company would rather approach the issue in a ‘more civil’ and would not want to make a media show of it.
- “As a policy, we refuse to be dragged into a Press war with anybody because there are more civil ways to address issues than the pages of Newspapers or magazines,” he told Nairametrics.
Is relocation still on the table?
For the Computer Village dealers, the issue of relocation should not even come up at all at this time because there is nothing on the ground to show that the government wants them to relocate. Meanwhile, the State Government has repeatedly voiced its readiness to move the market to the new site, saying the current location of the tech hub was not designed for that purpose.
- “Before anybody can talk about relocation, the new site project should be at least 70% completed. So, we cannot be talking about relocation for a project that has not started. The issue of relocation is not on the table yet.
- “Even if the new place is ready today, they will give us time to move because some have paid two to three years of rent upfront, and they will still need to use their money.
- “We don’t have any issue with relocation, but where we are going must be ready, that is our agreement with the government. So, if that is not there, they shouldn’t be talking about relocation but how to build the place,” the market’s Board Chairman told Nairametrics.
Why LASG terminated Bridgways’ contract
Announcing the termination of the Katngowa project contract during an inspection of the vast land area earmarked for the relocation of Ikeja Computer Village in the urban regeneration program of the state government. The Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on e-GIS and Urban Development, Dr Olajide Babatunde, said the contract was terminated due to non-performance of the contractor.
- “The contract with the Kantagowa Market Project consultant, Bridgeway Global Project Limited, has since been terminated over two years ago due to non-performance of the contractor on the agreement reached with him and it is, therefore, illegal for him or his representatives to collect any fees or money from anyone in any disguise on the development of the market after termination of his contract.
- “The Urban Development Department in the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development headed by Bola Bello has taken over the management of the Kantangua project till further notice. He also directed that anything that has to do with project control has to be in line with Lagos State Building Control Agency’s guidelines and regulations,” he said.
The Governor’s adviser also acknowledged that some traders had paid to the developer, noting that the government would ensure that they are refunded. According to him, Bridgeway Global Project Limited would be made to refund all fees collected to the subscribers after the conduct of proper identification and verification by the State government to determine the real occupants and how much they paid.
What you should know
The idea of a new site for the Computer Village was muted in the last year of Bola Tinubu’s administration as Governor of Lagos State. The project was carried on to the Babatunde Fashola’s regime when 32 companies were invited to bid for its execution.
Under Fashola, the process of appointing a developer took almost three years. The government bureaucracies continued until 2020 when the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration demolished the Katangowa market that was popular for used clothing and officially handed it over to Bridgeways as the appointed developers.
In 2021, Bridgeways carried out a groundbreaking ceremony at the site with a promise that the project would be completed in 24 months, that is, by 2023.
However, as of last week when the Governor’s Adviser inspected the site, the shops which will house the traders are still at foundation level with overgrown grasses covering most parts of the site.