Key stakeholders of Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos State,
have finally backed the relocation of the popular computer market to Katangowa
area of Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area, reports ITREALMS.
This, ITREALMS reports,
follows a successful stakeholder’s meeting where issues affecting the take-off
of the project were resolved.
The meeting attended by heads of plazas, officials of trade
associations and representatives of the ethnic groups at the market, seized the
opportunity to hold a closed-door meeting during which they resolved the
internal wrangling that essentially slowed down the movement to the new site
since April, when the agreement was signed between the Lagos State Government
and Bridgeways, the developer.
Apart from endorsing the project, the stakeholders also
appointed Mr. Ademola Olaifa as interim chairman and Barrister Osy Ijeomah as
secretary of the committee which was setup at the venue to act as bridge
between Bridgeways Global Projects Limited, and the Computer Village community.
Olaifa who is also the Public Relations Officer of CAPDAN,
expressed delight to be involved
describing the project as “a viable one, a life-saving project that everybody
that is alive want to identify with. It is a thing we have been struggling for
over the years. We are grateful to God almighty for sparing our lives to
witness the taking off of the project.”
Also, he said, that the project is a laudable one that will
benefit the Computer Village, Lagos State, Nigeria as a whole, and Africa
generally.”
In his remarks, Mr. Jimmy Onyemenam, CEO Bridgeways, said
the whole essence of the meeting was to establish an all-inclusive vehicle that
will serve as coordinator through which the developer could interface with the occupants
of the market.
“At the moment the project is at the verge of flagging off,
with the state government commencing a lot of expansion work, by clearing of
the site and to hand over the site to us. We expect that to commence anytime
from now. On Monday, we had a meeting with the squatters on the site and they
are actually on standby to move. Fortunately, the state government is putting a
human face to all of these and efforts are being made to make their relocation
as painless as possible for all there is going to be a lot of movement but not
as gruesome as experiences of the past,” he said.
In a brief presentation, Mr. Onyemenam gave a simplified
account of the project, its scope, and size and the facilities that would be
provided at the new Computer Village, stressing that when ready, the Katangowa
project would be the biggest ICT Park in West Africa and will offer over 4,000
shops, incubators, accelerators, technology laboratories, exhibition halls,
hotel, shopping plaza, industrial park, warehouses, Kee Klamps (small shopping
shades), a helipad, malls, banking halls, parking lots, conference centre, food
courts, security and power, and delivered in a carefully laid out plan to
remove the chaos currently bedevilling the Computer Village, Ikeja.
