LAGOS STATE SET TO MODERNIZE ALABA RAGO MARKET
• Gave 14-day ultimatum eviction notice to occupiers to vacate the market
People’s Voice Nigeria News
After months of negotiations between the Lagos State Government and the occupiers of Alaba Rago over the modernisation of the market, the government has given the occupants of Alaba Rago a 14-day ultimatum to vacate the market through a joint team of Rapid Response Squad and Lagos Taskforce.
The joint team, led by CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, Commander of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), and CSP Sola Jejeloye, Chairman of the Lagos State Environment and Special Offences Unit (Taskforce), met with market occupants in clusters to inform them of the 14-day vacation order.
CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi stated that emerging security reports from the area have revealed that Alaba Rago has become a haven for criminals, emphasising that the State Government has concluded plans to modernise the area as soon as possible in the best interests of the residents.
He stated that the recovery of several guns in Alaba Rago by the Ojo Police Division last week, as well as the revelation by drug dealers that they regularly funnel drugs through the area to various parts of the state, are additional reasons why the government needs to move quickly to modernise the area in order to maintain order.
He stated that the demolition of the area is consistent with the Government’s T.H.E.M.E.S. agenda on Environment and Security, and that the Government is bothered by the shanties and filthy conditions of the area, so modernising it would be in the best interests of the occupiers.
Egbeyemi urged the occupiers not to read ethnic and religious motives into the occupation, noting that Lagos State is a point of convergence for all Nigerians, regardless of religion, ethnicity, or tribe.
CSP Shola Jejeloye stated that numerous meetings with all major stakeholders have taken place in the past, and that the demolition should have taken place during Ramadan. He added that the government was sensitive to the need to postpone it so that those who travelled for Ramadan to be around.
He stated that after the 14-day deadline for residents to relocate temporarily for cleaning and modernization, the team would not accept any further excuses from the occupiers.
