By Dickson Okafor
At the weekend ,container-bearing trailer, which fell on a building under construction at Abia Plaza in Balogun Business Association (BBA), International Commerce Centre, Trade Fair Complex, Lagos, injuring scores of persons and destroying shops and goods, has triggered protest in the area.
Angered by the incident, traders staged a protest over the construction of the building, which they claimed was not approved by the Management Board of Trade Fair Complex.
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As at the time of filing this report, the situation was still tense as traders have continued to flee from the area.
Daily Sun gathered that the accident was caused by some granite stones for the construction of the illegal structure which was the original offloading Bay and car park of Abia Plaza before it was distorted with the illegal structure under construction.
Mr. Chinoso Uba who is one of the leaders in the market said the traders were protesting alleged bribery by the executive officers of BBA to allow them construct the illegal structure in a space mapped out for loading and car park.
He said: “That spot where the accident occurred is mapped out in the Masterplan for loading Bay and car park but the executives if BBA bribed their way and were allowed to construct the illegal structure.”
A former youth leader of BBA, Chief Otunabo appealed for peace while efforts are on to rescue some trapped traders.
He recalled that the builders were served a court order to stop work, but the leaders of the association ignored the order and continued work.
“Even as traders and customers are weeping over the accident, construction work on the illegal structure is still going on, even though we in Abia Plaza went to court and obtained a court order to stop work,” Otunabo affirmed.
He said they went to complain to their landlord, which is Lagos International Trade Fair Management Board (LITFMB) but no action was taken.
According to Otunabo work has continued and the structure is covering shops and defacing Abia Plaza, hence the protest.
He said because it is an illegal structure, the builders did not get the consent of Trade Fair Management Board before erecting it.
He recalled that the management served the sponsors of the structure 24 hours’ notice to demolish it, warning that if the management does the demolition, the association would bear the cost.
“We will not stop agitating until the building is demolished because it is against the Masterplan of the market,” he said.
In her reaction, Dr. Veronica Ndanusa, Executive Director, Lagos International Trade Management Board (LITFMB), while sympathizing with those who sustained injuries and those whose shops and goods were destroyed, assured the traders that the illegal structure would be removed.
She also condemned the act and expressed displeasure over the erection of an illegal structure in a spot mapped out for loading and offloading by unknown persons.
She acknowledged that a petition was brought to them, noting that even before looking into the petition, the LITFMB had put a stop work order on the structure.
She lamented that the management didn’t know when those against the building construction went to court.
She said: “We have tried to carry out interventions, especially in the area of building outside the plan. If you watch, it is not the only ongoing construction at Abia Gate that is illegal in the market. They are many and very soon, all the illegal structures, including those constructed under high tension will be removed”
On the allegation of her management being bribed by leaders of BBA to allow them embark on the illegal construction of the structure, Dr. Ndanusa said she had called those who claimed that they gave money to my staff to come and prove it with evidence.
She said she has always told her management that if any of them is found wanting of any crime, the management will not defend such a staff. “I have warned them that there is no point collecting money from people and doing the wrong thing. When I took over, I restored the stakeholders interaction, to be able to have meetings and interface with one another,” she stated.
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