Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, has lamented the destruction of the Lagos Trade Fair Complex and described the procedure as heartbreaking.
President Bola Tinubu traveled to Abia State on Friday to commission projects being carried out by the Governor Alex Otti administration.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, represented the president at the gathering.
Our hearts bleed as a result of the destruction, demolition of our brothers’ homes and offices in Lagos, Kalu said.
Kalu pleaded with Lagos authorities to intervene and give defaulters time to review their documents before losing their homes.
“I’m asking the governor of Lagos State (Babajide Sanwo-Olu) to keep accommodating our brothers for some of them who have not received the right document.”
Let them enter the room and examine some of these documents. Homes are being destroyed in this difficult time, which bleeds our hearts. However, he said, “I know that Mr. President, who cares about the Igbos, will listen to the Igbos’ desires.”
The deputy speaker further urged the federal government to prioritize port expansion in the South East to boost the region’s trading economy.
“We should probably have a new port in the South East,” he said. We need a port because South Easterners are traders, he continued.
The Trade Fair Complex in Lagos has begun the demolition of unsafe and illegal structures, and Kalu’s plea comes as a result.
The Lagos State Building Control Agency, the Urban Renewal Agency, the Lagos State Building Control Agency, the Physical Planning Permit Authority, and the Ministry of Physical Planning participated in the operation on September 25.
Read more about the demolition at the Lagos Trade Fair: Commissioners claim there is no ethno-ethnic coloration and it is purely technical.
Jubril Gawat, the aide to Governor Sanwo-Olu, confirmed the exercise, stating that it “targeted” illegal developments, structures without statutory approvals, defective structures, and structures constructed on roads setbacks and drainages.
The Office of Infrastructure, Lagos State House of Assembly members, security personnel, and other parties were in charge of the demolition.
No Ethnic Coloration: The Lagos Government Says.
The Lagos State Government has defended the demolition, arguing that technical and legal requirements predominated over the decision-making process.
Olumide Otuyinka, the state’s commissioner for physical planning and urban development, claimed Lagos had engaged in similar enforcement.
He refuted the claim of ethnic targeting and told Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, “That is not true.” Owode Onirin, Idumota, and Ikeja are our destinations. It is uncolored in any way ethnically. We simply need to do our work, after all. Nothing here is ethnic; it is purely technical.
He claimed that even in troubled areas, enforcement was carried out, and that he had personally led a team that visited a white cap chief’s palace. For all of us, this is Nigeria. You must adhere to the laws of that location when you are there. It’s really that easy. “
Without the proper investigation, the commissioner accused the Trade Fair Management of “leasing land” to private developers. He claimed that contractors did not obtain permits for construction, citing a three-story building that was constructed just two feet from the street’s kerb and had doors that opened onto the street.
Otuyinka argued that defaulters had ample time to comply. He claimed that officers who served notices were harassed and even detained while they were there in March 2024.
They knew we were coming, but that’s not new. We allowed defaulters to do so. They must abide by the law, he added.
Source: Channels TV
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