The Lagos State Government has dismissed claims by former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over the recent demolition at the Trade Fair Complex, insisting that the affected traders had no valid building approvals.
Obi, during a sympathy visit to the complex, had accused the state of “impunity” and described the demolitions as a test of justice and compassion. But the state government, through the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said Obi’s remarks amounted to misinformation aimed at misleading the public.
“The facts are clear,” Omotoso declared. “The owners of the illegal structures had no approvals. They were given ample time to regularise their papers under a general amnesty declared last year, which was even extended several times. They refused.”
According to him, the situation escalated when Physical Planning officials who attempted to enforce compliance were attacked and rescued only by police intervention.
The commissioner further clarified that while the Trade Fair Complex Management Board—an agency of the Federal Government—may allocate spaces and manage leases, it has no powers to grant building approvals. “Under Nigerian law, physical planning and development control are the responsibility of state governments. Lagos cannot be excluded,” Omotoso stressed, citing a 2003 Supreme Court judgment that affirmed states’ powers over development control within their territories, including federal lands, except for exclusive federal enclaves like military bases.
He maintained that any construction at the complex without state approval is illegal and liable to demolition, regardless of whatever administrative consent may have been given by the Board.
Omotoso urged Nigerians to “choose whether we want a society governed by law or one run by emotions and political theatrics.”