THE battle of who to issue certificate of occupancy, C-of-O, to in the Magodo Estaste tussle has nudged the Lagos State government and the Shangisha Landlords Association to head to the Supreme Court.
The Lagos State government disclosed that it prefers the apex court to resolve the dispute.
The state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, said following the intervention of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the dispute between the Shangisha Landlords Association -judgment creditors – and residents of Magodo, officials of the state government and representatives of the Shangisha Landlords Association held a series of meetings at which both parties explored the possibility of complying with the judgement of the Supreme Court.
Omotoso said at the meetings, two issues arose – there was a serious division among the judgement creditors as to who controlled or had the right to represent the Association; and the demand by the judgement creditors that a single global certificate of occupancy should be issued in the name of the Association as opposed to the position of the state government that each of the 549 members of the Association would be given allotment letters individually.
“Given the sharp divide between the two factions of the judgement creditors on who has authority to represent the Association and the disagreement regarding whom the certificate of occupancy should be issued (collectively or individually), the state government has approached the Supreme Court to seek further directives and clarifications on both issues. The judgment creditors have been served with the application,” Omotoso said.
The state government, however, reiterated its commitment to complying with the judgement of the Supreme Court once these two issues are resolved.
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