Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has described the ongoing demolition of buildings at the Lagos Trade Fair Complex as “heartbreaking and painful.”
Speaking during President Bola Tinubu’s visit to Abia State on Friday for the commissioning of projects executed by Governor Alex Otti, Kalu appealed to the President to wade into the crisis and urge the Lagos authorities to show compassion to traders and property owners.
“Mr President, the demolition of the houses and offices of our brothers in Lagos makes our hearts bleed,” he said. “In these hard times, it is painful to see people losing their properties. My plea is for the governor of Lagos State to give them time to regularise their documents instead of rendering families homeless.”
Kalu expressed confidence that President Tinubu, who was represented at the event by Minister of Works David Umahi, would heed the “yearnings of the Igbos.”
He further called on the Federal Government to develop ports in the South East, noting that such investment would boost the region’s trading economy and reduce overreliance on Lagos ports.
The Lagos State Government began the demolition exercise on September 25, targeting illegal and structurally unsafe buildings within the Trade Fair Complex.
The operation involved officials from the Ministry of Physical Planning, Building Control Agency, Urban Renewal Agency, and Physical Planning Permit Authority
