Fashola reopens Ladipo Market, as traders sign undertaking

Lagos State Government yesterday reopened the Ladipo International Auto Spare Parts market with conditions to sustain the environmental viability of the market. Several well-meaning individuals, including Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha and respected Igbo leaders in Lagos had appealed to Governor Babatunde Fashola to reopen the market. The reopening of the market, which came two weeks after its closure, was announced by the Ministry of the Environment after a six-hour meeting at the State Secretariat. The meeting was attended by the Chairman of Mushin Local Government, Mr. Babatunde Adepitan, and members of the traders’ association.

The traders signed an undertaking to comply with all the conditions given by the government. According to the agreement, the government would relocate the market if the traders failed to meet the conditions. Some of the conditions are that the drainage channels’ Right of Way, RoW, and other access roads would no longer be converted to trading points and mechanic workshops.

Other conditions listed in a statement by the ministry include: “Nonconversion of the shops in the market for residential purposes; no dumping of wastes and vehicle parts in the canal; maintaining the general cleanliness of the market environment at all times and LACEC shall be empowered to ensure same.”

The traders also agreed to patronise Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA-appointed PSP operators and pay service charges promptly; while the association is empowered to ensure compliance by all the traders in the market. The agreement also nullified all purported allocations and permits around the canal setbacks.

The agreement was signed by the leader of the traders, Mr. Ikechukwu Animalu; President LACEC, Pastor Steve Paul; secretary of Ladipo Central Executive Auto Dealers’ Association; Chairman, Mushin Local Government, Adepitan and Commissioner for the Environment, Tunji Bello, who was represented by Mr. Muyideen Akinsanya (Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services).

Ladipo Market was shut on the orders of the state government on Monday, February 25, following flagrant abuse of sanitation laws, including indiscriminate dumping of refuse, engine parts and wares inside drainage channels, construction of stalls on drainage alignments, conversion of market roads for trading and blocking access roads with spare parts, derelicts and abandoned vehicles, thereby making the network of roads within the market inaccessible to motorists.

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