The Lagos State Government has issued a two-week ultimatum to all developers and occupants of structures within the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, directing them to approach the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development to regularise their building approvals in accordance with state regulations.
In a statement signed on Thursday by the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Oluyinka Olumide, the state government reaffirmed its zero tolerance for illegal and unapproved developments within the complex. It stressed that enforcement actions would continue until full compliance with planning laws was achieved to ensure a safe, orderly, and sustainable physical environment.
Olumide stated that the Trade Fair Complex had over time become an enclave of haphazard and unsafe structures, posing serious risks to public safety and emergency response. He said the government’s actions were in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 11 — “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” — and the T.H.E.M.E.S+ Agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration.
He further explained that the move was consistent with the state’s constitutional mandate under the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Act 1992, as domesticated by the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2019, and reinforced by the 2003 Supreme Court judgment in Attorney-General of Lagos State v. Attorney-General of the Federation.
“These legal instruments empower states to regulate physical development within their territories, including federal lands, except for areas under exclusive federal use such as military formations,” Olumide said.
Clarifying the government’s position, he noted that the issue at the Trade Fair Complex was not about land ownership or title but about the approval status of physical developments. “Every structure in Lagos State must obtain a valid planning permit from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development in accordance with the law,” he stated.
However, traders at the complex have called on both the Federal and Lagos State governments to resolve their differences amicably.
The Chairman of the Association of Progressive Traders, Trade Fair Complex, Eric Ilechukwu, maintained that all buildings recently demolished within the complex had approvals from the Federal Government agency managing the market.
He appealed for dialogue, saying: “They should settle their matter and convey their resolution to us; we are ready to abide. We are traders and investors, we are ready to comply. This is not the time in the history of the country to witness such destruction. Trade Fair Complex was opened in 1977. This is 48 years, so what has suddenly changed now? We can’t fight government, let the two authorities meet and resolve their matter, we are ready to comply.”
Responding to criticisms, the commissioner cautioned political actors particularly of South-East extraction against misrepresenting facts and politicising the enforcement exercise.
“The attention of the Lagos State Government has been drawn to attempts by certain political actors to misrepresent facts and discredit the ongoing enforcement at the complex. Such actions are populist, ill-motivated, and aimed at scoring cheap political points rather than advancing the cause of public safety and sustainable development,” he said.
Olumide reaffirmed Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration’s commitment to maintaining an orderly, inclusive, liveable, and sustainable Lagos, noting that similar enforcement actions had been carried out across the state, including at Pelewura Market, Bombata Market, Ilasan Housing Estate, Otumara, Alaba Rago, and Oluwole Market — all without ethnic bias.
He added that states such as Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, and Imo had also embarked on similar demolition exercises for urban renewal, flood control, and master plan enforcement.
“It is disingenuous and divisive for anyone to resort to ethnic sensationalism whenever enforcement actions involve structures owned or occupied by individuals of Igbo extraction,” he said. “The Lagos State Government will not be drawn into political grandstanding and urges those fanning ethnic sentiments to desist. The actions of the Lagos State Government are always guided by the law.”