Ogun Gov Gives Street Traders Along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway 21 Days To Vacate Roadsides

Street traders along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, especially the Kara, Isheri Warewa axis, have been given a 21-day ultimatum to vacate roadsides, Naija News has learned.

According to the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, the clean–up of the axis of its numerous shanties was due to security and environmental factors.

He said the shanties constructed by these street traders at the road setbacks have become hideouts for criminals and drug dealers “who rob innocent citizens of their valuables in broad daylight.”

The governor, during a meeting with community leaders at the palace of Olofin of Isheri, Oba Sulaiman Adekunle Bamgbade in Isheri, noted that all the shanties will be demolished for a proper clean–up in preparation for the beautification of road setbacks to complement the reconstruction of the Expressway by the federal government.

Abiodun, who was represented at the meeting by his Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, further explained that the state government’s decision to take that step was to restore environmental sanity and create more secured roads.

He said after the street traders have failed to obey several warnings and notices for them to move to approved markets, the government is left with no choice but to dislodge them and demolish their shanties.

The governor stated, “Their continuous stay in these filthy shanties, which they have converted to homes, are of hygienic concern to the government as they practice open defecation, which can lead to outbreak of communicable diseases in adjoining communities.

“So, my government will not wait and allow a small group of individuals in the name of trading which outside approved markets put the safety and health of our decent people at risk,”