• Pleads with President Tinubu to intervene

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has lamented the demolition of buildings at the Lagos Trade Fair Complex, describing the exercise as heartbreaking.

Kalu spoke on Friday during President Bola Tinubu’s visit to Abia State for the commissioning of projects executed by the Alex Otti-led administration.

The president was represented at the event by the Minister of Works David Umahi.

“Mr. President, I also want to say that the destruction, demolition of the houses and offices of our brothers in Lagos makes our hearts bleed,” Kalu said.

Kalu pleaded with President Tinubu to intervene with Lagos authorities and allow defaulters time to regularise their documents instead of losing their properties.

“For some of them who have not gotten the right document, my plea is to appeal to the governor of Lagos State (Babajide Sanwo-Olu) to keep accommodating our brothers.

“Let them come into the room and find a way of regularising some of these documents. It bleeds our hearts that in this hard time, houses are being destroyed. But I know Mr President, who cares for the Igbos, will listen to the yearnings of the Igbos,” he said.

The deputy speaker further urged the Federal Government to prioritise port development in the South East to support the region’s trading economy.

“It’s about time that we have another port in the South East. South Easterners are traders, and we need a port so that our trading will be enhanced,” he added.

Kalu’s plea comes on the heels of the commencement of the demolition of illegal and unsafe structures at the Trade Fair Complex in Lagos.

The operation, carried out on September 25, involved the Ministry of Physical Planning, the Lagos State Building Control Agency, the Urban Renewal Agency, and the Physical Planning Permit Authority.

Governor Sanwo-Olu’s aide, Jubril Gawat, confirmed the exercise, saying it targeted “illegal developments, structures without statutory approvals, defective structures, and buildings erected on road setbacks and drainages.”

The demolition was supervised by officials from the Office of Infrastructure, Lagos State House of Assembly members, and security agencies.

Lagos Govt Says ‘No Ethnic Colouration’

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government has defended the demolition, insisting the exercise was not driven by ethnic considerations but by technical and legal requirements.

Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olumide Otuyinka, said the state had carried out similar enforcement across Lagos.

“That is not true,” he told Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, dismissing the ethnic targeting allegation. “We have been to Owode Onirin, Idumota, and Ikeja. It has no ethnic colouration. The fact is that we just have to do our work. There is nothing ethnic here; it is purely technical.”

He said enforcement was carried out even in sensitive areas and that he “personally led a team that touched the palace of a white cap chief. This is Nigeria for all of us. When you are in a place, you must live by the law of that place. It is as simple as that.”

The commissioner accused the Trade Fair Management of leasing land “to private developers without due process.” He said contractors erected structures without approvals, citing a three-storey building built just two feet from the road kerb, with doors opening onto the street.

Otuyinka maintained that defaulters had ample time to comply. He recalled visiting the site in March 2024 and alleged that officers serving notices were harassed and even detained.

“It’s not new to them that we were coming. We gave defaulters time. They must keep by the law,” he stressed.

He also condemned the poor condition of the complex and described refuse, blocked drainage, damaged walkways, and sewage problems. The commissioner lamented that it was “a shame” that the facility was allowed to deteriorate to that extent. (Channels TV, but headline rejigged)