Victor Umeh, the former All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) national chairman and senator representing Anambra Central, has criticised the recent demolitions of the Lagos Trade Fair Complex, calling them unlawful and a grave violation of law.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning allegedly violated the law by acting in an insult.
Senator Umeh criticized the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning for what he called an unlawful exercise of power in a statement released on Monday from Channels Television’s breakfast program, The Morning Brief.
“The problem is in how to treat people with due regard for the law.” According to Umeh, the country is governed by a set of laws and a constitution. “It is disappointing to hear that the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning came out to defend his illegal behavior.”
VIDEO: TRCN Raises Alarm Despite The High Number Of Unqualified Teachers In Nigeria.
According to him, the Federal Government continues to run the Trade Fair Complex.
The Lagos State Government moved in with heavy machines without justification to destroy people’s investments and buildings, he claimed.
Federal agencies, not the state government, are in charge of federal lands, he explained. State lands are both federal lands and state lands. Any property owned by the Federal Government is recorded in the Ikoyi Federal Land Registry, but not in the Alausa Federal Land Registry.
Umeh, a member of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, claimed that the Lagos authorities had no legal authority to use federal property.
He claimed that the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning’s actions were an offense and a lawbreaker.
He added that the Trade Fair Management Board was in charge of managing the complex, including setting up development approvals, property rates, and collecting ground rent.
He noted that the Lagos State government has never been there to carry out any of those duties until about two weeks ago when they moved in to tear down the buildings on September 25.
The senator called the incident “an intrusion” and claimed neither the board nor the traders had been informed prior to the demolitions.
They were also shocked that the Lagos State government had the right to relocate there without prior notice. Even the traders were not questioned or written about, he claimed.
Source: Channels TV
Leave a Reply