Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has described the demolition of buildings at the Lagos Trade Fair Complex as heartbreaking, urging President Bola Tinubu to intervene.
Kalu made the appeal on Friday during the commissioning of projects executed by the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti. The president was represented at the event by the Minister of Works, David Umahi.
“Mr. President, the demolition of the houses and offices of our brothers in Lagos makes our hearts bleed,” Kalu said.
He appealed to President Tinubu to engage Lagos State authorities and allow affected traders more time to regularize their documents instead of losing their properties.
“For those without the right documents, my plea is to appeal to the governor of Lagos State to accommodate them. Let them find a way of regularizing their papers. It bleeds our hearts that in these hard times, houses are being destroyed. But I know Mr. President, who cares for the Igbos, will listen to their yearnings,” he added.
Kalu also urged the Federal Government to prioritize port development in the South East to boost the region’s trading economy.
“It’s about time we had another port in the South East. South Easterners are traders, and we need a port to enhance our commerce,” he said.
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The demolition exercise, which began on September 25, was carried out by the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning, the Building Control Agency, the Urban Renewal Agency, and the Physical Planning Permit Authority.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s aide, Jubril Gawat, said the operation targeted illegal structures, buildings without approvals, defective properties, and developments erected on road setbacks and drainage channels.
The Lagos State Government has denied allegations of ethnic bias in the exercise. Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olumide Otuyinka, insisted that enforcement was strictly technical and legal.
“That is not true,” Otuyinka said on Channels Television. “We have carried out similar operations in Owode Onirin, Idumota, and Ikeja. This is purely technical. There is no ethnic coloration.”
He added that some developers erected structures without approval, including a three-storey building constructed two feet from a road kerb.
Otuyinka stressed that defaulters were given ample time to comply, recalling that notices were issued as far back as March 2024. He also decried the poor condition of the complex, citing blocked drainages, refuse heaps, damaged walkways, and sewage problems.
“It’s a shame that the facility was allowed to deteriorate to that extent,” he said.
