Senator Victor Umeh has appealed to the Lagos state government to stop victimizing Igbo who he said are the major investors in the state and the country at large.
The senator representing Anambra state in the National Assembly made the remark on Channels Television programme Morning Brief on Monday, against the backdrop of the recent demolition of some buildings at the Lagos Trade fair Complex, by the state government.
Recall that Umeh, Peter Obi, the 2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Senator Eyinaya Abaribe, among others had last week visited the Complex, after which they made scathing remarks against the state government.
The magazine also reported that the demolition had elicited serious anger from not a few Nigerians, particularly Igbo who claimed that the action of the state government was part of an orchestrated plan to frustrate them out of the state.
Speaking on the television programme today, Umeh said what the state government did was an act of illegality, saying the Complex is a federal area, and managed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, through the Trade Fair Complex Management.
He stressed that the alleged plot to frustrate his people out of the state cannot work because, noting that the Constitution allowed Nigerians to live wherever they want.
Adding that Igbo traders constitute the major contributors to the nation’s economy, noting, for instance, that they paid over N6 trillion as import duties to the federal government last year, the senator said his people should be encouraged instead of being vilified because of where they came from.
He also criticised the state government for not issuing demolition notice to the traders doing business in the Compex before their structures were brought down, saying the action lacked human face and constitute a violation of the rights of those affected.
Speaking after paying a visit to the Complex last week, Obi said the action of the state government was bereft of compassion, fairness and a deep sense of justice, saying it’s very wrong to destroy the livelihood of some people.
He said the state government’s action came at the time when many Nigerians are facing serious economic difficulty, noting that some of the traders who were affected by the demolition obtained bank loans to erect them, dismissing the state government’s claims that the demolished structures had no approval.
He said, “To destroy such legitimate investments without due process is not only unjust but also economically destructive.
“Today, alongside Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe, Victor Umeh, Col. Austin Akobundu, Tony Nwoye, Honourable Members of the House of Representatives, Segun Sowumi, George Adegeye, Labour Party Lagos State Gubernatorial candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and coordinator of the Obidient Movement Tanko Yunusa, we visited the site of the demolished ASPAMDA Market at the Trade Fair in Lagos, where plazas were pulled down despite traders having obtained the requisite approvals.”
The Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu led administration has defended the demolition, saying the traders were notified severally before it moved in last week, claiming that some state officials sent to the Comlex were at a time attacked by the traders.
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