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September 9, 2025 by Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie
Plans are underway by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) to transform the Federal Housing Estate in FESTAC, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area (LGA) of Lagos State, the Managing Director, Oyetunde Ojo, said yesterday.
He explained the highlights, including the construction of vertical buildings, infrastructure upgrade, and the enforcement of development control.
Ojo, who visited the estate, explained that the FHA would build skyscrapers and give homeowners the opportunity to trade their bungalows and flats for modern high-rise apartments.
He said the move would make them part-owners of the new buildings and increase their earning potential.
To fund the project, Ojo urged residents to pay their ground rent and other taxes, adding that the agency has not received any budgetary allocation from the Federal Government since 2003.
He said his administration has already awarded contracts to the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to construct three major roads: First, Second, and Seventh Avenue, assuring that no project will be abandoned.
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Ojo said the FHA had already sand-filled 1,500 hectares of land, which will include new malls. He said the over 1,500 hectares would also accommodate a bridge from Ijedodo that would take seven minutes’ drive to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
Ojo said these malls would encourage owners of the current ramshackle stalls to relocate.
He stressed: “We will clear shanties in Alakija, Amuwo-Odofin, First Gate, 2nd Avenue and 7th Avenue. Also, we are working on a five-kilometre road in the Trade Fair Market to make it more habitable and convenient for commerce.
“We will implement a ban on Okada in the estate between 2025 and 2026. In addition, tricycles will further be restricted in and around the Festac First Gate area”
Ojo promised to work with the stakeholders to enforce these bans.
The President, Festac Town Residents Association, Mohammed Adegbenro, said that residents would maintain the new infrastructure.
He, however, appealed for the return of the tripartite collaboration among the FHA, the local council, and residents to address community challenges.
The Chairman of Amuwo Odofin LGA, Prince Lanre Sanusi, said efforts are underway to clear shanties in Abule-Ado and Second Rainbow, and restore Festac to its glory.
He urged residents to pay their ground rents, stop illegal construction, and dispose of refuse properly.
The Executive Director of Projects Implementation, Mr. Oluremi Omowaiye, explained the scope of the project, recalling that they had to remove over 20 trucks of unsuitable materials from the roads at First Gate due to the filling of potables by residents with inadequate materials.
Omowaiye, who said the FHA would not compromise standards, hinted that the estate would soon have a 24-hour uninterrupted power supply.
FHA’s Executive Director of Estate Services, Nya-efok Ezekiel, who reiterated that the FHA operates without a federal budget allocation, urged the residents to support the agency.
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