Lagos State Government has warned residents and traders living or plying their trade under high tension cables across the state to vacate such places.
Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force SP. Olayinka Saheed Egbeyemi gave this warning yesterday while speaking with the press during the demolition of illegal structures and over 350 illegal shops constructed under high tension cables at Oba Wahab Ayinde Balogun Modern Market, Isheri – Olofin under Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area in Alimosho.
Egbeyemi confirmed that residents and traders of these illegal structures and shops/shanties were served adequate statutory notices before the demolition exercise.
The demolition exercise was jointly carried out by Lagos State Task Force, Lagos State Building Control Agency and Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.
While confirming that the residents and traders were allowed to remove their goods and properties, Egbeyemi said the exercise was carried out by the government in order to protect lives and properties of people living in the State.
The Assistant General Secretary of Oba Wahab Ayinde Balogun Modern Market Alfa Yisa Mudashiru in his reactyion to the demolition, however said that they have been selling and living inside the market for over 35 years. Adding that they developed the illegal markets in conjunction with officials of Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area.
He also confirmed that they were served adequate notices and that both the ‘Baba Oloja’, Mr. Salami Alao and ‘Iya Oloja’, Alhaja Irat Adebayo were lobbing government officials for a stay of execution before today.
The leader of the Hausa Community at the market Alahaji Aliyu Galadima said the market was divided among the three ethnic groups namely Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo.
Galadima stated that immediately notices were served, he and his other ethnic group leaders quickly informed residents and traders of the market about the intention of the government.
He however commended the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode for his zero tolerance on safety standard measures across the State.
Egbeyemi disclosed that other areas where illegal structures and shops were constructed under high tension cables have been adequately served with demolition notices.
“With time the machinery of government would move to demolish such illegal structures within other local governments and local council development areas in the State”, he said.
Each shop is said to have been sold out rightly between N1.5m to N3m or a monthly rent of N5,000 by a developer ‘Jasiours Enterprises’ who got the property from two sons of the monarch of Isheri, Oba Wahab Ayinde Balogun; the names of the two sons are, Mr. Samson Wahab Balogun, a.k.a Oba and Idris Wahab Balogun, a.k.a Oluomo who claimed to be owners of the land.
One Mr. Paul Akuagbe and his wife, Mrs Florence Akuagbe disclosed that they just paid the developer N30 million last Monday for out right purchase of 10 shops.
The affected residents and traders are therefore calling on the government to help them recover their money running into millions of naira from the developer.
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