Traders under the auspices of South-East Amalgamated Marketers Traders Association (SEAMATA) have condemned Lagos State Government’s demolition of Electrical and Electronics Market in Oshodi.

Reacting to the demolition, President of SEAMATA, Chief Okwudili Ezenwankwo, said in Onitsha that Lagos State Government did not give the traders time to remove their goods before moving bulldozers to pull down their shops.

He demanded compensation from the state to traders whose shops and goods were destroyed during the market demolition, which mostly affected Igbo traders.

Ezenwankwo reiterated that the traders were not given enough notice and time to evacuate their goods before the demolition, and wondered why only few days’ notice was given to the traders after which they were not allowed to enter the market.

He also wondered why the demolition was carried out at a time traders travelled to their various hometowns for Christmas and New Year celebrations.

“Lagos State should have given the traders more time to relocate their goods before demolishing the market. The traders there are mostly Igbo, who travelled home for Christmas and New Year celebrations. Why did the demolition take place in absence? What will be the fate of those who lost their goods? We condemn the demolition of the market now and demand compensation to those who lost goods to the demolition,” he said.

The traders have rejected the Lagos State Government’s plan to relocate them to Oshodi Resettlement Market (former Isopakodowo Market), citing structural instability and several spiritual activities associated with the structure as their reason for the rejection.

They added that the available space in the market cannot accommodate them.

The refurbished Isopakowodowo Market, where the affected traders were asked to move to, was commissioned by the former governor of the state, Babatunde Fashola, now Minister for Works, Power and Housing. It was commissioned two years ago on January 7, 2014.

None of the market stalls had been opened for business since it was commissioned.

•Pieced together from reports in Daily Sun and Vanguard. Photo shows traders watching helplessly as their shops were being bulldozed.

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