Nigeria: Lagos Trade Fair Row -

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Daily Champion (Lagos)

8 August 2008
Posted to the web 8 August 2008

Stan Okenwa and Lucky Abawuru
Lagos

Traders at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex Badagry Expressway yesterday urged President Umaru Yar'Adua to quickly intervene in the impasse generated by the controversial concessioning of the N200 billion facility to Aulice Nigeria Ltd by Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE).

The traders, who again, protested over what they described as BPE's insensitivity to rule of law, want Yar'Adua to constitute a committee to look into the matter with a view to bringing peace in the enclave.

Addressing newsmen shortly after a major clash between BPE and the traders was averted by prompt intervention of the executives the Trade Fair Stakeholders Forum (TFSF), the forum's chairman, Chief Sunday Earnest Ohanasoeze said that Yar'Adua's quick intervention had become necessary to save lives and private investments.

"You can see that traders have been gathering at the gate of Trade Fair Management Board (TFMB) and keeping vigil against the purported plan by BPE to handover the complex to Aulic Nigeria Limited. Anything can happen. BPE has come with Policemen and we are armless civilians. They can shoot and kill us or they could be mobbed to death by the over 10,000 traders here, " he said.

Continuing, Ohanasoeze said that "we are law abiding citizens. We have gone to court and secured judgment against BPE but they said they cannot obey court order. There is a limit we can bear. If we are forced to the wall, we will have no alternative".

However, at press time, authorities of the State Security Services (SSS) have invited some executives of the TFSF for parley aimed at enhancing peace at the complex.

Over 50 riot policemen, who accompanied officials of the BPE took strategic positions surrounding the traders who equally declared their readiness to die protecting what they described as their lives investments at the complex. But at the height of the arguments between the BPE officials and top members of the stakeholders, the leader of BPE, sensing danger, relocated to the nearby Police Station.

Addressing the crowd shortly after their meeting behind closed doors, Ohanasoeze reasoned that their decision to storm the complex was to deny the BPE access to audit the staff of the TFMD which he said is a step towards handing over of the complex to the embattled concessionaire.

"Our demonstration against the BPE is informed by the fact that the BPE wants to commit contempt of court. We, the traders had earlier secured an interlocutory injunction restraining the BPE and all its agents from furthering with the concession and we have equally served a competent writ of summons to them on the matter and the hearing in a Lagos High Court comes up on October 6, 2008. So we are disturbed that a Federal government agency under the present administration that have rule of law as pillar is flouting subsisting Federal High Court Order," he added.

He urged the traders to go about their normal businesses and be ready for the next line of action, arguing that his group cannot allow their multi billion naira investments to be handed over an outsider without due process.

He disclosed that his executives will be heading for an emergency meeting immediately with the Area Command and possibly the Lagos Police Commissioner on the matter, adding that he had equally been summoned by the State Security Services (SSS) for chats.

In a separate interview, Mr. Dunu Anselam, a member of the Balogun Business Association (BBA) Executive Council said all the over 10,000 investors in the complex are fully behind the TFSF in the fight to quash the controversial concession in the first instance. TFSF is an umbrella body for all the investing groups at the complex including the Auto Spare Parts and Machinery Dealers Association (ASPMDA), Balogun Business Association (BBA), Association of Progressive Traders (APT), C-Tempo Limited and others.

Daily Champion recalls that last week, danger was averted at the expansive complex when traders in their numbers arrived their different business plazas only to see the complex locked up. But the umbrella body of all the trading units, the Trade Fair Stakeholders' Forum (TFSF) alerted the Police before they eventually gained access to the facility.

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