Planned Demolition Of POWA Shopping Complex In Good Faith – Police
Ayuba Sanusi
THE Nigeria Police Force has said it is in support of the planned demolition of the Police Officers Wives Association (POWA) Shopping Complex, Ikeja, Lagos by the Lagos State government.
Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement, said the Force has been inundated with enquiries concerning the planned exercise. He however insists that the demolition is being carried out to enable the Force to commence immediate construction of a modern shopping complex on the same land.
According to him, the decision to demolish and reconstruct is predicated on the fact that professional opinion indicates that the structure, as it is, constitutes a looming environmental hazard as the site is prone to flooding, and may be susceptible to sudden collapse. Hence, the a need for immediate landscaping and reconstruction.
He stressed that the planned demolition and reconstruction will be in phases and is in good faith for the betterment of all concerned.
“All necessary legal requirements have been duly met. The current occupants of the complex have been given more than enough notice of the demolition to enable their evacuation from the facility in good time, and necessary steps have been taken to temporarily accommodate them within the same complex while the reconstruction lasts. Equally, the relevant Lagos State government agency, according to its expert advice, has been approached, required help sought, and necessary approvals for demolition obtained.
“While the demolition will proceed as planned, Nigerians are hereby urged to disregard frivolous claims, unsubstantiated protests, and media blackmail alleging wrongdoing and illegality on the part of the Force or the POWA. The Police and its affiliates, like the POWA, will always be committed to better welfare and standard of living for its personnel and their families”.
The complex is a property of the Nigeria Police Officer’s Wives Association (POWA), which is officially allocated to wives of Police Officers and their relatives,
Eighteen-Eleven Media reports that some police officers’ wives and other traders, who are owners of shops at the complex, have protested against its planned demolition.
They have in recent weeks carried out peaceful protests in Ikeja after the complex was allegedly sealed by the state government to pave the way for the demolition.
The officers’ wives and traders had earlier raised the alarm over the alleged plan by a group of persons parading themselves as policemen and using the name of the wife of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Elizabeth Egbetokun, to demolish the complex.
The immediate past Chairman of the complex, Tobechuwku Maxwell, who expressed sadness over the proposed demolition, urged Egbetokun’s wife, who is the POWA President, to intervene and disallow the impostors from carrying out their alleged sinister motive.
He also appealed to the IGP to use his good offices to put a stop to the demolition and fish out those behind the illegality for prosecution
Eighteen-Eleven Media
