ICT MALL IKEJA: FIRM TELLS LASG TO RETRACT STATEMENT IN 48 HOURS OR FACE LAW SUIT

IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – A subsidiary of CFL Group, Masters Reality Int’l Concepts Ltd today asked the Lagos State Government to retract libelous statement it made against the firm within 48 hours or face court action.

Master Reality, an infrastructure development company, equally denied any partnership with the state government on its plan to build Ikeja IT Mart, which it said, was designed to replicate Silicon Valley in Nigeria and a centre for information technology in Africa.

The company gave the ultimatum in a letter its counsel, Mr. Lukman imam addressed to the commissioner, demanding the retraction of offensive statements he made against it in the media.

In a statement he personally signed on Tuesday, the Commissioner for Physical Planning & Urban Development, Mr. Abiola Anifowose had denied partnership with the firm and enjoined residents “to alert the state government if they notice such development, so that they do not fall prey to fraudsters.”

Anifowoshe had, also, said in his statement that the information from the company “is false. Lagos State Government did not issue any permit to him because his plans are not in sync with the state government’s regeneration plan so it is not possible for him to obtain approval from the appropriate authorities.”

In its four-page letter with other support documents, the firm asked “to retract the offensive statement issued by you to the press and re-erect our fence unlawfully and maliciously demolished at Simbiat Abiola Road, Ikeja.

“If you fail, refuse or neglect to comply with the above demands, we shall be constrained with no other option but to take appropriate legal actions against you, your office and the state government.”

The letter said it was surprising that Anifowose was not aware of the project client’s project on which his office issued an official correspondence conveying planning information in respect of the proposed project.

It noted that Master Reality “is in the final stage of complying with all requirements stated in your letter which will facilitate issuance and grant of building plan approval. Thus the planning permit for our client’s project (commercial) is in process.”

The letter read in part that Master reality “has never presented, claimed or made any representation that it is in partnership with any tier of government for its project on the land situated at Simbiat Abiola Road, Ikeja. The project is a private driven initiative.

“We categorically assert that there is no where (written or unwritten, directly or indirectly) where our client claimed that there is an approval or plan for the project. We restate that your statement is a calculated attempt to misled the public and project our client in bad light.

“It is shocking and disheartening that you expressly referred to our client as a fraudster in your ill conceived statement to the press. It is astonishing and unthinkable that a reputable conglomerate that has paid well over N11 million in respect of its various projects particularly Alade Market, Ikeja can be offhandedly referred to as a fraudster.”

“Your libelous reference to our client as a fraudster has adversely affected its enviable reputation, good standing and meritorious rating in the business community particularly among its partners, foreign associates, bankers, investors and subscribers.”