The former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has tasked the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on the demolition job carried out at Alaba Market recently.
Ezekwesili has also called on Sanwo-Olu to immediately publish details of the buildings demolished by his government at the Alaba International Market in Lagos State, reports The Guardian.
Taking to her verified Twitter handle yesterday, she said providing the details of the demolition would serve as a proof that the governor was not on a vengeful political mission against the Igbos in Alaba market.
Recall that the Lagos State government recently ordered the demolition of 17 shops in the market located in the Ojo Local Government Area (LGA) which has since brought about controversy.
There have been speculations that Sanwo-Olu ordered the demolition job to punish Igbos who dominate Alaba Market for allegedly voting against him in the March 18 gubernatorial election in the state.
Ezekwesili who hails from an Igbo-speaking community in Anambra State thereafter took to social media to call on Sanwo-Olu to provide full details of the exercise.
“The Governor Sanwo-Olu-led @followlasg on Friday started the process of removing what it described as distressed buildings in the Alaba International Market in the Ojo Local Government Area,” Ezekwesili tweeted.
“I have a policy advice for @jidesanwoolu that would be helpful for all sides and the public.
“Mr Governor, please immediately publish details of each destroyed building and the dateline of due process rules that were exhausted by your government before it was ‘removed.’
“It will be wise for the governor to take this counsel on transparency and full disclosure since it would provide evidence to the public that this is not a vengeful political attack against the predominant Igbo community in Alaba Market,” she said.
She also advised the Lagos state government and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) to stop “brewing toxic atmosphere” against others which she alleged both men had been doing even before the 2023 general elections took place.
“Let me also use this opportunity to really again advise the @followslasg and its cheerleaders including @officialABAT to be careful in persisting to brew a terribly toxic atmosphere against fellow (Nigerian) citizens since before, during, and after the 2023 elections,” she said.
“Governance by maliciousness does no one any good. A word is sufficient for only the wise,” the former Minister of solid minerals stressed.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government had explained that the buildings in the market were “physically distressed” and that the “lives of business men and women within the market would be put at risk” in the event of imminent collapse.
It gave an explanation through a statement signed by the General Manager (GM) of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Gbolahan Oki who said the distressed buildings also pose danger to other adjoining structures
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