Lagos government fingered in Ladipo market crisis

Shola Adefuwa

The last may not have been heard of the lingering crisis over the demolition and re- development of Ladipo main Market, by Mushin Local Government Council in partnership with a Private Developer, Total Value Integrated Services Ltd, as Lagos State Government is said to have waded into the matter.

Our checks indicated that the state government decided to wade into the crisis to avert imminent break down of law and order.

This is even as traders and patrons of the market are protesting what they called “fraudulent sale of the land to a developer, Mr. Simon Onyekachi Ubani by Mushin council and further fraudulent building approval issued by the state ministry of physical planning in the personal names of the developer, instead of Mushin local government council, who is the legal owner of the market Land”.

According to one of the market leaders, Chief Augustine Oranaekwu, “it is very shameful and disturbing that the Executive Secretary of Mushin Council, Mr. Babajide Bello, will connive with faceless persons to cleverly sell the 60% of Local Government share of Ladipo market Land to a developer and also facilitate the approval in his personal names, instead of the council’s name. If any approval should be issued, it must be in the name of the local council, who constitutionally owns  the Land and controls market development, in fact , it has been revealed that the purported developer is a mere front by some powerful and selfish individual’s”, he alleged.

In a petition to the State Government via the secretary to the State Government, dated October 7, 2015, received at 1:35pm on October 8, 2015 and signed by High Chief Innocent Obiechefu Akachukwu of Echefu Akachukwu International Company Nigeria Limited, he told the Government that the re-development of Ladipo Main Market by the said Developer was done without recourse to set laws and values guiding such projects.

According to him, the project constitutes “abuse to the Environment, inimical to physical planning and potentially hazardous and dangerous to residents “

Akachukwu, told the Government that the on-going project was an affront to good governance and inimical to the vision of Lagos Mega City project.

“It is an injustice to the environment, public good and planning efforts that started from the time of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu‘s cerebral administration.”

While pleading with government to intervene in order to save the present and future generation from “the clear hazard the construction of new shops at old Ladipo market would pose”, Akachukwu, who said that he was the originator and pioneer Chairman of old Ladipo Market, urged the state to help the environment and public order by utilizing the said Land for an ultra-modern motor park to eradicate the perennial traffic congestion bedeviling the area and the entire Mushin vicinity.

He buttressed his case to the Government by stating that Ladipo Mushin Area has twelve markets with more than 9000 shops and warehouses, which he argued, are the major cause of human congestion, commotion and traffic gridlock.

“All these shops are controlled by Mushin Local Government Council .Tolls and revenue are collected without corresponding remedy to check the traffic explosion. The authorities did not see the point of doing more to check this potential and present hazard. Unfortunately the interest of the present local authorities coincided with those of selfish traders union who now levied and collected millions of Naira from traders for purposes of pulling down and erecting new shops at the old Ladipo Main Market. Reasons took flight, public good was not respected,” he noted.

Chief Akachukwu, described the on- going demolition as act of impunity and a big embarrassment. “We are also aware that no permit was secured from the relevant ministries and agencies”, he alleged.