The Lagos State Government on Monday said that the dislodged residents and traders in the Oko Baba plank market, located in the Ebute Metta area of the state, were illegal occupants who had refused to relocate to the new location allocated to them by the government.
The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, disclosed this in a telephone conversation with PUNCH Metro on Monday.
PUNCH Metro reported on Monday that the traders and residents had accused the government of being responsible for the fire incident that destroyed their goods worth millions of naira.
The traders had claimed that the government deliberately set fire to the market to dislodge them.
Our correspondent, who visited the scene of the incident on Sunday, had observed that the market, which covered a large expanse of land and extended to the waterside under the Third Mainland Bridge, was razed by fire.
It was also observed that officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency were setting fire to the wooden structures.
While admitting that the state was responsible for the fire, Omotoso disclosed that the government had provided a new location for the traders in the Agbowa area of Ikorodu to relocate.
He emphasised that those who remained at the Oko Baba plank market were the ones who refused to relocate to the new market location.
The commissioner noted that, as part of efforts to make the new location attractive to the traders, the government had constructed a road that connected the new market to the major road in the Ikorodu area and provided the traders with accommodation.
He said, “The operation was carried out by LASBCA. We have relocated them to a new market in Agbowa, but some of them refused to move there. They complained that the road linking the market was not good, and the government constructed an alternative road for them. They were also provided with accommodation.
“Those who were left at Ebute Metta were those who refused to move. They were illegal occupants in the market before, as there is no document allocating the place to them. The government had only been magnanimous by providing a new place for them.”
Omotoso added that the activities of the traders in the shanties posed a threat to the environment and the aesthetics of the state.
He continued by stressing that the recurring fire incidents in the market also posed a threat to the Third Mainland Bridge, necessitating the government’s action.
He added, “If you observe, the place has become an eyesore, and their activities are beginning to constitute environmental hazards. The impact on the environment is not good.
“They have also extended under the Third Mainland Bridge, which puts the bridge at risk because of the frequent fire incidents that often occur in the market. If these fires are allowed to affect the integrity of the bridge, it puts the lives of thousands of people who use the bridge at risk, and we won’t allow such to happen.”
He concluded by assuring the public that the government would always protect the interests of every resident of the state.
