The Nigeria Police Drive has stated it is going to go forward with the deliberate demolition of the procuring complicated belonging to the Police Officers Wives Affiliation in Ikeja, Lagos State, regardless of what it described as “frivolous claims, unsubstantiated protests, and media blackmail” by the affected merchants.
The Drive Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, stated in an announcement on Saturday that the NPF had been inundated with inquiries regarding the deliberate demolition of the POWA Purchasing Advanced in Ikeja.
Adejobi stated, “It has grow to be crucial to correctly set up that the complicated, a property of the Nigeria Police Officer’s Wives Affiliation, which is formally allotted to wives of law enforcement officials and their kin, has been scheduled for demolition.
“That is to allow the Drive to begin instant development of a contemporary procuring complicated on the identical land.”
In response to Adejobi, the choice to demolish and reconstruct the complicated was “predicated on the truth that skilled opinion signifies that the construction as it’s constitutes a looming environmental hazard.”
The FPRO added that the “web site is liable to flooding and could also be inclined to sudden collapse, therefore the necessity for instant landscaping and reconstruction.”
The deliberate demolition and reconstruction, he stated, might be in phases, including that it’s in good religion for the betterment of all involved.
“All crucial authorized necessities have been duly met. The present occupants of the complicated have been given greater than sufficient discover of the demolition to allow their evacuation from the power in good time, and crucial steps have been taken to briefly accommodate them inside the similar complicated whereas the reconstruction lasts.
“Equally, the related Lagos State Authorities company, in line with its professional recommendation, has been approached, required assist sought, and crucial approvals for demolition obtained,” he said.
Adejobi warned the merchants in opposition to what he referred to as frivolous claims, unsubstantiated protests, and media blackmail through the demolition train.
“Whereas the demolition will proceed as deliberate, Nigerians are hereby urged to ignore frivolous claims, unsubstantiated protests, and media blackmail alleging wrongdoing and illegality on the a part of the Drive or the POWA.
“The Police and its associates, just like the POWA, will at all times be dedicated to higher welfare and requirements of dwelling for his or her personnel and their households,” he added.
The PUNCH reported on Friday that merchants on the POWA Advanced in Pc Village, Ikeja, sought the intervention of the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the Inspector Normal of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, following a plan to demolish the complicated in lower than 24 hours.
The merchants at Phases I and II of the complicated lamented that about 1,000 occupants would lose their livelihood if the plaza was demolished.
A former chairman of the Pc Sellers Affiliation, Belief Tobechukwu, stated a developer recognized as Attaining Greatness Properties despatched a letter informing them to go away the complicated as demolition would happen.
Tobechukwu defined that the case was taken to court docket, and so they received a restraining order stopping the deliberate demolition.
In response to him, regardless of the court docket order, some individuals who claimed to be officers of the Lagos State Authorities got here to the plaza on Thursday to stick the holiday discover.
“We’re interesting to him to assist us. We’re law-abiding merchants making an attempt to make a dwelling. If we’re pushed out of the market, 1000’s of us will lose our technique of livelihood, and those that rely upon us may even endure.
“The plaza is owned by the widows of former law enforcement officials and serving officers. In 2019, the complicated was marked for demolition, and after we inquired from Abuja, we have been informed {that a} developer who was determined to have entry to the complicated was the one making an effort to chase us out of the complicated,” Tobechukwu stated.
In his remarks, Trustee Chairman of the Pc Sellers Affiliation, Mark Eze, stated there are 300 retailers within the complicated, with over 1,000 merchants paying hire for greater than 20 years.
PUNCH experiences that the merchants had, on December 19, launched into a protest, opposing the alleged plan by POWA to demolish the complicated.
The chairman of the Pc Supplier Affiliation, Tayo Shittu, claimed through the protest that the merchants pay between N300,000 and N400,000 a 12 months, alleging that the Police Wives Affiliation wished to destroy the retailers out of egocentric curiosity.
Shittu added that once they reached out to POWA, the affiliation denied figuring out something concerning the demolition.