28th May 2024
The Lagos State Government, through the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has given traders and shop owners within the Oshodi markets up to July 31st 2024 deadline to remove all extensions and attachments built on shops or face demolition.
The General Manager, LABSCA, Arc. Gbolahan Oki, gave the ultimatum during an advocacy and sensitization programme put together in conjunction with the Oshodi-Isolo Local Council Development Area, LCDA.
Oki said the state government was determined to bring environmental sanity to all nooks and crannies of Lagos markets by checking the illegal activities of shops and plaza owners who violated the physical planning laws of the state.
“No amount of resistance and intimidation by miscreants or ethnic coloration put in blackmailing the state from doing the needful can make the State Government go back on its resolve to clean up the entire Lagos market of extensions and attachments,” Oki vowed.
He decried the nuisance constituted by shop owners who were in the habit of constructing attachments and extensions to display their wares and goods on walkways and roads, thereby obstructing the smooth flow of vehicular and human traffic, especially during emergencies.
Oki, addressing the traders and shop owners at the event highlighted the importance of maintaining clear roadways within the market, stating, “The market is a road, and if there is no road, there is no market.”
He reiterated the administration’s unwavering commitment to clearing the right of way in all markets across the state, noting, “Clearing of the right of way is a standing order by the Governor and there’s no going back until the right of way is clear in all markets across the state.”
Oki, while stressing the economic benefits of compliance, maintained, “You are losing potential customers because of your illegal structures.
“If all roads in the market are motorable and free of traffic bottleneck, potential customers will come and patronize you knowing they can drive in and out with ease”.
The general manager also called on those putting petrol and diesel generators on rooftops and staircases to remove them immidiately.
Supporting this directive, Otunba Kehinde Almaroof Oloyede, Chairman of Oshodi/Isolo LCDA, warned traders to avoid a scenario similar to the forceful removal of illegal extensions that took place in Lagos Island.
He stressed the need for voluntary compliance to avoid harsher measures.
The Iyaloja of Oshodi Market, Alhaja Risikat, expressed her appreciation for the grace period provided by the government, assuring that the traders would adhere to the deadline and remove the extensions and attachments by themselves.
“The directives to shop and property owners aligns with the Lagos State Government’s broader efforts to ensure safety and orderliness in public spaces as the removal of illegal extensions and attachments are expected to not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of the market but also improve the overall trading experience for both traders and customers,” Oki stated.
The advocacy and sensitization programme also had in attendance representatives of market leaders led by Alhaja Risikat Abebe, developers, community leaders and officials of LABSCA.
