1 month ago
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The Lagos State Government has faulted comments by erstwhile Labour Party statesmanlike candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, pursuing his sojourn to the Trade Fair Complex wherever immoderate structures were precocious demolished.
In a connection issued connected Tuesday, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, said Obi’s remarks amounted to “emotional theatrics” aimed astatine misleading the nationalist done misinformation.
Obi, during his visit, had praised the traders for their restraint, insisting that the demolished buildings had approvals, describing the workout arsenic “a trial of impunity, justness and compassion.”
But Omotoso dismissed the claims, stressing that nary of the affected structures had valid approvals from the Lagos State Government.
According to him, the authorities had successful 2023 declared a wide amnesty for owners of unapproved buildings crossed the state, with respective extensions granted, but the owners astatine the Trade Fair Complex failed to instrumentality vantage of the gesture.
“When Physical Planning officials visited the complex, the gates were locked against them and they were beaten up. The constabulary had to rescue them. When the authorities invited the owners for talks, they bluntly refused to amusement up,” the commissioner explained.
He further clarified that the Board of the Trade Fair Complex, which is simply a instauration of the Federal Government, lacked powers to assistance gathering approvals oregon modulate carnal improvement wrong the complex.
“Under the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Act (1992), arsenic domesticated by Lagos State, each carnal improvement successful immoderate portion of Lagos indispensable get readying licence from the Lagos State Government. This presumption was affirmed by the Supreme Court successful 2003 successful Attorney-General of Lagos State v. Attorney-General of the Federation,” Omotoso stated.
He emphasized that portion the Trade Fair Complex Board could negociate leases, tenancies, and commercialized activities, operation oregon alteration of immoderate operation inactive required support from the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.
“Otherwise, specified developments are amerciable and liable to demolition nether authorities law. We indispensable determine whether we privation a nine governed by instrumentality oregon 1 tally by emotions, driven by governmental interests,” Omotoso concluded.
Recall that connected Thursday, officials of the Lagos State Government, done the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, carried retired an enforcement workout astatine the Trade Fair Complex on Lagos-Badagry Expressway, during which implicit 19 buildings were pulled down.
The affected structures, according to the government, were erected without valid readying permits, contempt repeated warnings and extensions of the amnesty model fixed to owners to regularise their papers.
The station Obi’s remark connected commercialized just demolition misleading — Lagos Govt appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.
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