Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, has expressed his sadness at the destruction of structures at the Lagos Trade Fair Complex, calling it terrible.
According to Channels TV, Kalu said yesterday during President Bola Tinubu’s visit to Abia State to open projects that were built by the Governor Alex Otti government.
David Umahi, the Minister of Works, spoke for the president during the event.
Kalu stated, “Mr. President, I also want to say that the destruction and demolition of the homes and offices of our brothers in Lagos makes our hearts bleed.”
Kalu asked President Tinubu to step in with the Lagos government and give people who are behind on their payments more time to get their papers in order instead of losing their homes.
“For those of them who don’t have the necessary papers, I ask the Governor of Lagos State (Babajide Sanwo-Olu) to keep helping our brothers.
“Let them come into the room and figure out how to make some of these papers official.” We are heartbroken that homes are being destroyed during this trying time. “But I know Mr. President, who cares about the Igbos, will listen to what the Igbos want,” he remarked.
The deputy speaker also advised the federal government to make port development in the South East a top priority to help the region’s commercial sector.
“It’s about time we got another port in the South East.” “We need a port to help our trading,” he said, “because South Easterners are traders.”
Kalu’s request comes after the start of the removal of hazardous and unlawful buildings at the Trade Fair Complex in Lagos.
The Ministry of Physical Planning, the Lagos State Building Control Agency, the Urban Renewal Agency, and the Physical Planning Permit Authority all took part in the operation on September 25.
Jubril Gawat, an assistant to Governor Sanwo-Olu, confirmed the action and said it was aimed at “illegal developments, structures without statutory approvals, defective structures, and buildings built on road setbacks and drainages.”
The Office of Infrastructure, Lagos State House of Assembly members, and security agencies were in charge of the demolition.
The Lagos government says there is “no ethnic coloration.”
The Lagos State Government, on the other hand, has defended the destruction, saying that it was not done for ethnic reasons but for legal and technical reasons.
Olumide Otuyinka, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, said that the state had done similar actions all throughout Lagos.
He answered, “That’s not true,” and dismissed the claim that he was targeting people of a certain ethnicity.
“We’ve been to Ikeja, Idumota, and Owode Onirin.” It doesn’t have any racial overtones. We really just need to get our stuff done. This has nothing to do with race; it’s all about technology.
He added that enforcement was done even in delicate places and that he “personally led a team that touched the palace of a white cap chief.” This is Nigeria for everyone. You have to follow the rules of the place you are in. That’s all there is to it.
The commissioner said that the Trade Fair Management rented land “to private developers without following the rules.”
He added that contractors built things without getting permission, such a three-story building that was only two feet from the road and had doors that opened onto the street.
Otuyinka said that anybody who didn’t pay had plenty of time to do so. He remembered going to the location in March 2024 and said that cops who were serving notifications were mistreated and even arrested.
“They knew we were coming. We gave people who didn’t pay time. He made it clear that they had to follow the law.
He also denounced the bad condition of the complex and mentioned garbage, clogged drains, ruined pathways, and sewage concerns. The commissioner said it was “a shame” that the building had gotten that bad.
About the Author
