Abuja – November 23, 2023 – Viewpoint Housing News.
On Wednesday, the Ogun State Government began knocking down temporary buildings and shantytowns located near Kara on the Lagos-Ibadan Motorway.
The task force claims that the unlawful buildings and shantytowns deface the corridor and serve as a haven for local criminals.
Farouq Akintunde, the State Governor’s Senior Special Assistant on the Environment, oversaw the operation.
He stated that, the goal of the exercise was to establish the state as Nigeria’s industrial center.
According to him, the traders had degraded the environment by defecating openly in spite of multiple warnings and abatement notices, which constituted a nuisance to the environment.
He said, “The Ogun State Government will not fold its hands and watch a few elements constitute themselves to security threats to our people while camouflaging to be traders in their illegal shanties and makeshift structures.
Akintunde noted that the state government would turn the areas into lawns while cautioning the displaced street traders not to try a comeback.
Though there was some opposition as some protesters were spotted with sticks, the heavy presence of security agents such as policemen and operatives of the Ogun State Community Social Orientation and Safety Corps helped prevent any outbreak of violence, as reported by pressmen who were present at the scene of the operation. They observed dirt and faeces littering the road median along the corridor and under the Kara Bridge.
