The Lagos State government Saturday demolished over 500 illegal structures in the Abattoir, Oko Oba, Agege area of the State. The exercise was carried out from the Oko Oba area to Fagba axis, by the rail line, where shanties had been erected indiscriminately. The state government had earlier served a seven-day notice for those affected to remove their structures.
Saturday’s exercise was jointly carried out by ministries of Agriculture and Environment, as well as the state Environment and Special Offences Enforcement Unit and security units in the state.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Oluwatoyin Suarau said the objective was to improve the hygiene of the affected areas, as well as ensure security in the neighborhood. He said,
“I want us all to see this exercise as a positive development in the red meat value chain and not as Government’s instrument to disrupt activities at the complex. Rehabilitation of the facilities at the Oko-oba abattoir is to ensure that operations at the complex meets international standard”.
Suarau said the government had completed the fencing of the abattoir and cleared the heap of refuse that had been there for years. He assured that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is determined to give the area, particularly the abattoir a face lift, with a clinic.
The government, he said, is determined to ensure a safe environment for the red meat production, adding that the task force will be stationed there to ensure strict compliance to official plans for the complex.