Nigerians Decry Closure of Trade Fair Complex by LASG

Sunday Okobi

Nigerians who do businesses at the Trade Fair International Complex, Lagos, yesterday decried the closure of the market by Lagos State Government.

They, however, appealed to the state government to reopen the market as they are losing revenue to the closure.

The market was last Sunday evening closed for alleged series of environmental infractions, particularly improper waste disposal, burning of wastes, which had raised concerns about public health and the well-being of the people in the area.

The enforcement was carried out in partnership with Lagos Task Force on Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences and the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC).

In a notice, the state government said: “The state government has observed that you have contravened the provisions of the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law, No. 10 Vol. 50, 2017, and the Lagos State Waste Management Law 2017.

“You are therefore, urged to comply fully with the provision of the law and pay the stipulated fines into the coffers of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority before your premises can be reopened.”

While condemning the closure, the traders claimed that they have lost businesses and money because of the action.

The Chairman, Trade Fair Stakeholders Association, Eric Ilechukwu, told journalists that the market was closed without notifying traders and the management of the market.

According to him, “Some of us were in church when they started calling us that some people, who we don’t know, started to lock our shops, gates and malls.

“Later we found out that it was Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) that carried out the closure. We were surprised that such a thing can happen at this time.”

Ilechukwu said the market leaders have a good relationship with LAWMA as they pay their dues without owing them anything.

“We are surprised that there is no notification or information to let us know if we are doing something that is wrong, which I know that we never do. We have over 62 plazas here and everything has been locked. We derive our title from the federal government, not the state government. So, I see no reason the state government will come here to lock us out without informing the management,” he stated.

Also, the President, African Tyre Village, Isa Akanbi, said the government was known to be a law-abiding state, but “what we are experiencing as law-abiding citizens is lawlessness.”.

“LAWMA knows that we have sanitation structures in this complex and they are supervising the structures, they didn’t go through that structure and they didn’t notify any of the market leaders.”

“Sundays are off days for the marketers and they come when we are not around to lock the markets. We are not dirty. We do not owe them, why do we deserve this?” he said.

On his part, former ASPAMDA chairman, Daniel Oforkansi, lamented that LAWMA’s action was inhibiting federal government‘s move to reduce rising poverty in Nigeria.

Oforkansi said: “How can they come in to lock up the whole market while we have some of their officials in charge of our waste management here?

“We do our environmental sanitation from Monday to Friday and they come every Saturday to evacuate them and we pay them every month.

“We have the receipts of what we have been paying to them every month, sometimes N2 million and N3 million.

“They brought a new bill on Thursday and we arranged for them on Friday and they said they would come by Monday to collect the money. So, why did they come to lock our market suddenly on Sunday?” he said.