HE, Peter Obi touring demolished buildings in Lagos Trade fair with national assembly members today 30/9/25
Following the revelation by the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Oluyinka Olumide, in his 2026 Ministerial Briefing in commemoration of the seventh year of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration as Lagos State Governor, that his ministry generated well over N80bn, industry analysts have adduced that the ministry may have made a sizeable chunk of the money from the invasion and subsequent amnesty granted to owners of buildings and mainly private plaza owners inside the Lagos International Trade Fair complex within the period under review.
Though the commissioner was surprisingly silent on the gains of the amnesty granted to building owners in the complex and other parts of the state during the last 61 days of 2025, many affected traders in the complex argued that if the ministry can give a religious figures, a good size of revenue came from plaza owners who were forced to cough out unprecedented amount of money for building approvals (after their buildings were massively demolished) even though they have paid for the same building approvals to the complex management board, the official agency of the Federal Ministry of Industry, bestowed with the constitutional powers of managing the complex property development since inception in 1974 the complex was built.
However, a top official of the trade fair stakeholders association, who pleaded anonymity confided in Business Hilights.ng that “Even though the Lagos State Government and the Ministry in particular are offering us 50% waiver if we AGREE to pay, none of the major markets or consortium have made any payment because a directive is yet to come from the management Board for us to make payment as talks are still ongoing.
He however recognized the fact that “…but we know that some private plaza owners have already made payments (and are still making), adding that their payment is nothing compared to the major stakeholders who are yet to make payment because we are waiting for directive from our ED/CEO.
Giving insights during the briefing, the Commissioner said “What we know is that at the end of the year, our total revenue will be estimated for revenue and taxation. It will display our performance. So far, we are gaining from our exercise in terms of planning and processing. Last year, I think we got about N80bn or so,” he said.
Business Hilights.ng recalls that towards the end of 2025, the ministry invaded the trade fair complex, siting a Supreme Court judgement that it claimed empowered it to control every building development in the state to demolish several structures without any prior notification which triggered traders’ demonstrations.
However, when personalities like the Presidential candidate of NDC and federal lawmakers form South east toured the complex and decried ethnic cleansing translated to building demolitions, discussions started which landed in reaching an understanding that forced plaza developers to cough out billions of naira in the name of paying to Lagos State Government another money for building approval after paying for the same purpose to the federal ministry through the trade fair management board.
