. . . Accuse LASBCA boss of lying

By PETER ANOSIKE

Traders in Alaba International Market, Ojo Alaba, Lagos, have looked in the direction of the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, in their bid to understand the demolition of their shops by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).

Some of the traders who spoke with News Express on Saturday said they are suspecting that some people have started to implement what the Speaker had in mind when he said during his recent inaugural speech that the lawmakers would create laws to favour only the economic interests of Lagos indigenes.

According to them, since the inaugural speech, Igbo business men and women in Lagos have been living in fear, adding that it would not be strange to associate any action of government on them as enforcement of the speech.

One of the traders, Samson Edeoga, said: What the officials of LASBCA said is not the whole truth. Anytime it rains there is flood but after some time, it will drain. It happens everywhere. Is that enough reason to demolish our shops? Government has built a canal that the rain is flowing into and there is no more flood on the road. Those whose buildings were weak have put reinforcement.

So, I believe that the demolishing has ulterior motive which will not be far from what the Lagos State Speaker said during his inaugural speech. May be they have started to implement it.

Other traders who spoke expressed similar sentiments.

They faulted the claim of LASBCA General Manager, Gbolahan Oki, that the reason why some structures are being demolished in the market is because they are structurally defective.

Oki while leading a joint enforcement team of LASBCA and Lagos State Task Force on Friday, had said that the purpose of the demolition exercise was to save lives.

According to him, he usually panicked every time it rained because of the likelihood of any of such defective buildings collapsing, adding that government valued lives of residents which were more precious than the cost of any property.

But in their reaction, the traders said that the officials of the building control agency were been economical with the truth. They stressed that they (traders) have done a lot to stop building collapse in the market.

According to them, the Fancy and Furniture Section of the market where the structures were marked for demolition has a well-built canal by government where floods go to after every rain.

They said that the canal is located about 100 metres away from the buildings and as such not affecting the structure of their buildings.

According to them, a lot of those whose buildings were sealed in the past for being defective have reinforced and strengthened them.

The traders said that their shops are where they get their livelihood and as such they would not allow them to collapse.

An executive member of the market said that they have called the Chairman of Ojo Local Government Area, Hon. Olushola Rosulu Idowu, who is the landlord of the market, but he told them that he is in Abuja and would be back to Lagos on Monday next week.