Lagos Building Demolitions Not Targeted at Igbo

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has faulted reports about the decision of the Lagos State Government taking actions to victimise Igbo who are residents in the state.

This followed several reactions to the demolition process embarked upon by the state government at the Alaba International Market in the Ojo Local Government Area of the state.

General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Gbolahan Oki, had earlier announced during an assessment visit to the market on Friday that the planned demolition of some of the buildings had been marked with quit notice since 2016, adding that the process had been greeted with criticism with claims that the decision was targeted at Igbo people in the market.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Igbo organisation, Alex Ogbonnia, said in a statement on Saturday that the group had carried out investigations about the matter and had been able to establish the true state of affairs.

He added that the President General of the group, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, while calling for calm amongst the Igbo occupants of the market, urged the state government and the state’s Environment and Development Authority to be prudent and goal-oriented during the demolition exercise.

The statement partly read, “The attention of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has been drawn to several fake publications circulating on social media alleging a decision by the Lagos State Government to take actions to victimize the Igbo citizens domiciled in Lagos. Since the disturbing news broke out, we have made investigations in order to establish the true state of affairs.”