Alaba Rago: Lagos gives 14-day eviction notice to occupants

 

.Tension in Ojo, Lagos  as Police battle Okada riders

.Govt declares war on quackery in real estate

 

IBRAHIM QUADRI

 

 

After several months of negotiation between Lagos State government and representatives of the occupants of Alaba Rago over the modernisation of the market, government has given them a 14-day ultimatum to vacate the market.

 

The order was issued through a joint team of Rapid Response Squad and Lagos Taskforce.

 

The joint team, which was led by Commander, Rapid Response Squad, RRS, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, and Chairman, Lagos State Environment and Special Offences Unit (Taskforce), CSP Sola Jejeloye, met the occupants of the market in clusters to inform them of the 14-day vacation order.

 

Egbeyemi stated that emerging security reports from the area had shown that Alaba Rago had become a den of criminals stressing that the state government had concluded plans to modernize the place in the shortest possible time in the best interest of the residents.

 

He stated that last week’s recovery of several guns in Alaba Rago by Ojo Police Division and the revelation by drug dealers that they regularly funnel drugs through the area to several parts of the state were the more reasons government needed to move swiftly to modernise the area for there to be orderliness.

 

He noted that the demolition of the area was in conformity with government’s T.H.E.M.E.S agenda on Environment and Security, adding that government was bothered by the shanties and the filthy conditions of the area, hence modernising it would be in the best interest of the occupiers.

 

Egbeyemi urged the occupiers not to read ethnic and religious motives into the exercise, noting that Lagos State is a convergence point for all Nigerians, irrespective of religion, ethnicity or tribes.

 

Jejeloye noted that many meetings had been held with all the major stakeholders in the past and that the demolition should have taken place during the Ramadan.

 

He added that government was sensitive to delay it in order for those who travelled for the Ramadan to be around.

 

He stated that after the 14-day ultimatum for the residents to temporarily relocate for the cleaning up and modernisation, the team would not listen to further excuses from the occupiers.

 

Also, Tension gripped the Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos over an attempt by policemen to enforce the state government ban on the operation of commercial motorcycle operators also known as Okada riders.

 

The state government had, on Wednesday, issued a total ban on the activities of the Okada riders in six local government areas of the state for the killing of a sound engineer, David Imoh, at Lekki.

 

It was learnt  that policemen from Onireke Police Station, Ojo, had impounded some commercial motorcycles for operating on the Mile 2 – Badagry expressway, an action which the riders were said to have resisted.

 

The riders attempted to overrun the station and possibly set free some of their members who were arrested by the policemen.

 

The riders set fire in the middle of the road, while the owners of vehicles abandoned them by the side of the road due to the chaos our correspondent observed

 

The crisis led to a stampede as pedestrians fled for fear of being caught up in the crossfire.

 

Moreso, the incident created heavy vehicular movement on both sides of the road.

 

While the policemen fired several shots into the air to disperse the commercial motorcycle operators, the riders themselves pelted the officers with stones, daring the policemen to come after them.

 

A yet-to-be ascertained number of persons sustained different wounds as they tried to run away from the trouble zone.

 

Presently, a combined team of anti-riot policemen and some soldiers have been deployed to return normalcy to the area.

 

Meanwhile, As part of measures to sanitize real estate sector of quackery, the enforcement unit of Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA) on Thursday embarked on enforcement drive to some parts of the State in order to ensure that real estate practitioners operating in the State duly register their presence with the Authority.

 

The enforcement and sensitization exercise which commenced at Ikeja and its environs, is expected to be replicated across other Divisions of the State as part of strategies by LASRERA to raise public awareness about State Government  efforts to sanitize the real estate sector in the State.

 

Our reporter who was part of the enforcement unit, was able to witness the destruction of some of the banners at Maryland and GRA area of the State of some of the unregistered real estate operators.

 

Speaking on the move to sanitize the sector, the Special Adviser to the State Governor on Housing, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka explained that it is important to notify members of the public that it is an offence to practice real estate in any of its forms including those displaying ” To Let, To Lease, For Sale etc” in their offices or on properties without being duly registered with the Agency.

 

Benson-Awoyinka, who was represented by the Director. Enforcement Unit of LASRERA,  Mr Deji Badejo, during this exercise, said that there is need to restrict posting of banners on residential and commercial properties by unregistered Real Estate Individuals/Organisations who can easily swindle unsuspecting members of the public on their investments or hard earnings.

 

She added that many members of the public have been defrauded in the past by imposters and fraudulent real estate practitioners, stressing that Government cannot continue to fold its arms and allow irregularities that is capable of driving many genuine investors/ investees away from the sector again.

 

Benson-Awoyinka also stated that the Agency had earlier written letters to over 1000 Real Estate Individuals/Organisations in the State to honour the State Government’s call for regularization of the sector, while also expanding the market confidence of those in diaspora to invest in the sector.

 

” Let me state clearly here that following the letters earlier delivered to practitioners across the State, only a few of these practitioners responded to the content of the letters, hence the need to embark on this enforcement and compliance exercise so that relevant stakeholders in the built sector and the general public can attach importance to the call by the Agency to sanitize real estate transactions in the State,” the Special Adviser emphasised.

 

Benson-Awoyinka assured all residents of the State that the Enforcement drive will be a continous exercise until all practitioners in the Real Estate Sector of Lagos State are captured under LASRERA’s database inline with  international best practices.

 

She used the opportunity of the enforcement exercise to call on members of the public to report   dubious Real Estate Practices to the Agency’s email on : lasrera@lagosstate.gov.ng, or call the following numbers: 090- 199-999- 77, 090- 199-999-97, 090- 40000- 333, 090- 40000- 444, 090- 40000-555 or contact the headquarters of LASRERA at Block 21st,  First Floor, Alausa Secretariat, Ikej.