The Lagos State Government has faulted comments made by former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over the demolition of structures at the Trade Fair Complex, insisting that the affected buildings had no valid approvals.
In a statement issued by Gbenga Omotoso, the commissioner for information and strategy, the government dismissed Obi’s remarks as “misinformation and disinformation.”
The commissioner accused Obi of attempting to “mislead the public by misinformation and disinformation” after the former governor visited the complex and described the demolitions as “a test of impunity, justice and compassion.”
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Omotoso insisted that the state’s Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development had followed due process.
“The owners of the building have no approval. They got ample time to regularise their papers when the state government declared last year a general amnesty, which was extended several times. The owners shunned the offer,” he said.
According to the commissioner, attempts by government officials to enforce planning laws at the complex were met with resistance.
“When Physical Planning officials visited the complex, the gates were locked against them; they were beaten up. The police rescued them. When the government called the owners for talks, they said they would not come; they did not come,” Omotoso noted.
He stressed that while the Trade Fair Management Board, a federal body, can administer leases and commercial activities within the complex, it lacks the legal authority to approve building projects.
“The board… does not have powers to approve or regulate building developments within the complex independent of Lagos State Government,” he said.
Citing the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Act (1992) and a 2003 Supreme Court judgment, the commissioner reaffirmed that states have the authority to regulate development control within their territories, including federal lands, except for core areas such as military formations.
Omotoso concluded by framing the issue as a choice between the rule of law and political grandstanding.
“We must decide the kind of society we want, one governed by law or one run by emotions, fueled by political interests,” he stated.
