For the second time in two weeks, the Lagos State government has denied that its officials were involved in the demolition of a market in the state.
Goods worth millions of naira were lost after government officials, accompanied by armed police officers, arrived the Sabo market on Itoikin road in Ikorodu on Thursday night to begin demolition of the property.
The traders said they were served a notice of demolition two weeks ago.
But Steve Ayorinde, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, said on Friday that the demolition was carried out by “unscrupulous and desperate” developers suspected to be acting in connivance with certain local government officials.
According to Mr. Ayorinde, the state government did not demolish the market and would not demolish any market or property in the state without following due process.
“The State Government’s preliminary investigation revealed that the market was demolished by some private developers, in connivance with some local government officers and a certain uniformed personnel who acted beyond their brief,” the commissioner said in a statement.
He explained that government had observed a pattern which engages uniformed personnel to carry out spurious orders without any proper notice being served to deny market women of the means of their livelihood.
Mr. Ayorinde said the state government would no longer tolerate such brazen act of illegality.
The commissioner said to forestall similar occurrence, the government would henceforth beam its searchlight on the excesses of developers, local government officials and their cohorts in order to protect the interest of hard working traders.
“The current administration in the state is committed to the socio-economic empowerment of the people and has formulated policies and taken measures that would guarantee their economic well-being.”
“It would therefore not fold its arms and watch desperate individuals or groups deny hard working people in the state their means of livelihood,” Mr. Ayorinde said.
The statement reiterated the commitment of the government to protect the right of every citizen and warned against further acts of connivance between developers and their cohorts.
Mr. Ayorinde’s statement came exactly two weeks after a similar denial over the demolition of the retail market in the Berger area of the state.
Wasiu Anifowose, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, while denying the state’s responsibility for the demolition said the government does not embark on demolitions without organizing a stakeholders meeting with the affected people, as well as giving them adequate notice.
“Our story is that some of the market women came to my office yesterday saying that their market was being demolished, and after finding out from relevant agencies because I have not given any directive on demolition and having confirmed that our agencies were not involved, I told the market people that the demolition never came from us,” Mr. Anifowose had said in a statement on April 21.
In November last year, the state government also denied involvement in the demolition of Otodogbame, a waterfront community in Lekki.
Responding to the development, Taofeek Gani, the Peoples’ Democratic Party spokesperson in the state, said the government should identify those who participated in the demolitions and prosecute them.
“It calls to question, we need to know whether we are on auto-pilot now in Lagos State where we cannot identify who is governing,” said Mr. Gani.
“Because if such exercise continues and the state government represented by the governor indeed is denying knowledge, it means we do not have an active government in place.
“It is not only in this arrangement of demolitions, so many other things are happening in the state and the government is always quick to come and deny. Let them not allow Lagosians to become anarchic because once it is confirmed that the government will want to put up an alibi whenever an injury is inflicted on them, they will turn to anarchy.”
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