Obi, Lagos Govt Clash Over Trade Fair Demolitions

The Lagos State Government has dismissed claims by former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, that traders at the Trade Fair Complex whose buildings were demolished had valid approvals.

Obi, who visited the site earlier this week, condemned the enforcement exercise carried out by the state’s Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development. He praised the traders for what he described as their “restraint” and branded the demolitions “a test of impunity, justice and compassion.”

But the state government has accused Obi of misinforming the public. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said in a statement that the buildings in question never had the required planning approvals.

According to him, the state had previously offered a general amnesty for owners of unapproved buildings to regularise their documentation. That offer, he said, was extended multiple times but was ignored by the affected traders.

“When Physical Planning officials visited the complex, they were locked out and even beaten up before being rescued by the police,” Omotoso explained. “When the government called the owners for talks, they bluntly refused to show up.”

The traders had argued that the Management Board of the Trade Fair Complex, a federal entity, had authorised their developments. But Lagos insists that the board only has powers to allocate spaces and manage leases—not to approve physical structures.

Omotoso cited the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Act (1992) and a 2003 Supreme Court judgment in Attorney-General of Lagos State v. Attorney-General of the Federation, which established that state governments retain the authority to regulate development control within their territories—even on federal lands, except in exclusive enclaves like military formations.

“The Trade Fair Board may oversee tenancy and commercial arrangements,” Omotoso said, “but all physical development still requires a Lagos State planning permit. Without it, such buildings are illegal under state law.”

The commissioner urged the public not to allow “emotional theatrics or political interests” to overshadow the rule of law.

With Obi’s intervention stirring heated debate, the controversy has again raised questions about urban planning, federal–state relations, and the politics surrounding demolitions in Nigeria’s commercial capital.