The Lagos State Government has on Thursday embarked on a massive demolition of plazas and illegal structures at the Trade Fair market in Ojo Local Government Area of the state.
As disclosed in a post shared on X by the Special Adviser to the State Governor on New Media, Jubril Gawat, the demolition exercise was carried out in a joint operation by the Office the Lagos State Urban Development, Ministry of Physical Planning, and the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).
Other agencies involved in the exercise include Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (LASURA), Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA), and the Office of Infrastructure.
According to Gawat, the buildings demolished were those without statutory approvals, defective structures and structures built on road setback and drainages.
A video attached to the post showed moment excavator tore down couple of uncompleted plazas with some several other buildings, including completed ones, marked for demolition.
More videos shared on X further captured moment completed plazas were brought down to rubbles as traders watched helplessly amid tight security deployed to the area.
The demolition exercise has again sparked mixed reactions from the public as it is coming barely a month after several residential buildings were demolished in Oworonshoki area of Lagos.
While some netizens commended the state government for the demolition, other faulted the exercise, questioning why the structures were approved for construction from the onset.
“This is commendable. Please bring everything down. If you must live and do business in Lagos, learn how to follow set rules and regulations.”@Chrisbamidele
“How were the buildings approved in the first place? I mean, you need a written approval for the structural design and landscape of the area before building, especially for a commercial building. Who’s approving them?”@Emmykings
“There’s flood all over Lagos Island, Lekki, Ikoyi, the government is not active to clear drainage and take down but it’s Ojo that I didn’t see one video of flooding; that’s where the activity is strong to clear and take down okay ooo”@handsumeze
“Pls am find it hard to understand what’s going on here, is it that the Lagos State government wasn’t the one that approved same building they are demolishing again? I can’t imagine investing in my country and it end this way.”@indokhem
“What were these agencies doing while the structures were being built to this level? They should also be penalized, not just the developers!”@mainolufemi
“Tradefair is FG property and LASG has had an eye there for obvious reasons. Nothing will be as bad as the loss experienced in the Biafra war. (if it’s a witch hunt) I trust the state government isn’t biased during these process”@UzodinmaCharles
“I think @jidesanwoolu needs to urgently restructure the Ministry of Physical/Urban Planning. They seem overwhelmed and lack capacity. How do whole estates and markets get fully built before anyone realizes they’re illegal? That’s a system failure.”@Yemi Ifegbuyi
“NO to this approach. This is hard earned money going down the drain. It is not possible to erect such an edifice without some govt official (rtd or active) backing. Until such officials are brought to book, we keep having this springing up.”@amosegun
“Reactive in my opinion. These things ought to have been done before now. We take it up any time there’s flood and stop again after many pleas. We need to be more proactive in handling these things.”@OluofEgba
