Business owners along Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road, Lagos, have lamented the harassment, Intimidation and extortion of the officers of Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).

According to them, the officials from the enforcement department of Oshodi district are always coming on illegal duties to extort money from them for no just cause.

They told News Express that by such acts, the officials of LASBCA are thwarting the efforts of the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to run a business-friendly government.

Lamenting their ordeal on Monday, the spokesman of the business owners, Stephen Okere, said: “In fact, the officers of the enforcement department of the Lagos State Building Control Agency are doing a great dis-service to the good works of the state government by embarking on illegal duties along international airport, road which is the first port of call for anybody coming into the country.

“Today, July 19, 2021, their illegal operation took them to Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road and on sighting where a banner that was affected by the rain that fell on Friday, July 16, 2021 was being put back at 36, Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road, they shamelessly lied that what was going on was reconstruction, which according to them is contrary to the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2010 Contravention Notice and as such they should be ‘settled’ or they would lock up the business premises.

“When the workers at the premise refused to comply with their demand, insisting that no renovation was going on, the LASBCA official wrote ‘Stop-Work’ on the fence of the company and served them a paper with “Illegal Renovation of an existing bungalow without any guidance of Lagos State Renovation permit’ written on it.

“The paper was signed by Ibitoye Babatunde on behalf of the General Manager.”

Also speaking, the Human Resources Manager of the company where LASBCA officers served the paper, Ebere Ditto, said that the LASBCA officers have become like a cankerworm to the business owners along Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road.

According to him, they always come to harass, intimidate and extort money from them under different pretences.

He said that the LASBCA officers were looking for money for Sallah and that was why they came on the illegal duty but that the company is no longer ready to condone their illegality.

His words: “You can see that our roof is intact. What we are doing is just hanging back the banner that the wind removed and they said that we should settle them and if not, they would close our business premises. That is how they drag the name of the governor to the mud, because they always claim that they come from the office of the governor or that Sanwo-Olu is aware of their mission. I am pleading with the Lagos State Government to call these LASBCA officers, especially those in Oshodi district, and discipline them because they are disgracing the government.”

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