The Lagos State Government has justified the demolition of structures at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, stressing that the exercise was based on technical grounds and not aimed at any ethnic group.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olumide Oluyinka, dismissed allegations of ethnic bias.
“That is not true,” he said, maintaining that “We have been to Owode Onirin, Idumota, and Ikeja. It has no ethnic colouration. The fact is that we just have to do our work. There is nothing ethnic here; it is purely technical.”
Oluyinka noted that similar enforcement had been carried out across different parts of Lagos.
“There has been a series of enforcement carried out on Lagos Island. I personally led a team that even touched the palace of a white cap chief. This is Nigeria for all of us. The facts are clear; when you are in a place, you must live by the law of that place. It is as simple as that,” he explained.
‘Illegal Leasing, Poor Planning’
The commissioner accused the Trade Fair Management of worsening the situation by leasing land to private developers without due process.
*“What we have seen is a situation where the management is leasing out land to third parties who bring in their own consultants and contractors to build without recourse to the law.
“That day, we showed them that there was no meaningful layout there. We saw a three-storey building just two feet from the road kerb. When you open the shop doors, they swing over the road. Do you want to tell me a serious architect designed that? That cannot be possible,”* he said.
‘Defaulters Had Ample Notice’
Oluyinka insisted that property owners were given sufficient time to address violations before the demolitions commenced.
“I led a team there in March 2024. Between then and now is over a year and a half,” he recalled. “We met with the Executive Director, and there was almost a confrontation, which is evidence that we were there.”
He added that officials attempting to serve notices had faced harassment.
*“Our officers went there to serve notices and were locked up for five to six hours. We had to bring in the police to release them.
“Even this year, officers went there and were detained. So what more notice are they requesting? It’s not new to them that we were coming. We gave defaulters time. They must keep by the law,”* he said.
The commissioner also lamented the poor infrastructure within the complex.
“It’s a shame we allowed our Trade Fair to get to that extent. Refuse, passage, drainages, walkways, sewage, everything is in shambles. They should even be happy we are there to sanitise because that is our responsibility. We cannot allow it to continue,” he stated.
On September 25, Lagos State commenced the demolition of unsafe and illegal structures at the Trade Fair Complex. The operation was carried out by the Ministry of Physical Planning in collaboration with the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Urban Renewal Agency, and Physical Planning Permit Authority.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s Senior Special Assistant on New Media, Jubril Gawat, confirmed the exercise in a post on X, noting it targeted “illegal developments, structures without statutory approvals, defective structures, and buildings erected on road setbacks and drainages.”
The exercise also had the involvement of the Office of Infrastructure, members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, and security agencies who provided support.
Two weeks earlier, the government had suspended all reclamation projects across Lagos due to environmental concerns.
Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, explained that reclamation activities were encroaching on wetlands, floodplains, and lagoons without approval.
He identified Parkview, Banana Island, Osborne, Ikoyi, Victoria Island Extension, Lekki, Ajah, Oworonshoki, and parts of Ikorodu as affected areas, warning: “Lagos’s low-lying topography and fragile ecosystem cannot withstand indiscriminate reclamation activities without grave consequences.”