25th February, 2018
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
The plan redevelopment of the popular Ile-Epo Market in Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area, LCDA, into a modern market befitting a mega city, is to gulp N2.6 billion.
The redevelopment project has been awarded to the investor, Total Value Integrated Limited, the company that will redevelop the market within 12 months from the commencement of construction.
Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Total Value Integrated Limited, Chris Onyekachi while briefing newsmen on Lagos Island, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria on Saturday said the traders and all stakeholders were being carried along in the plan redevelopment of the market.
Onyekachi spoke in the wake of plans by some influential traders in the market to scuttle the redevelopment of the market by trying to instigate traders to resist the development.
He said the redevelopment of the market was awarded to his company by the Agbado Oke-Odo LCDA since 2016 and that since then, several meetings had been held with the traders as well as the Lagos State Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs to discuss the way forward.
“The market presently, is an eyesore and the Local Government saw it as a challenge and partnered with us. Few days ago, we erected billboard that construction will soon start. The Iya oloja and baba olojas were in support of the project. Those protesting are enemies of the state. These people hijack the IGR from the local government.
“We have a provision where to relocate the traders as we will do the development in phases. We have the interest of the people at heart as we have held several meetings with them,” he said.
According to Onyekachi, two people in the market were the one instigating others to resist the redevelopment, noting that his company had gotten all necessary approval and made payments, warning mischief makers to stop instigating the people against a redevelopment that would benefit the masses.
“There are two people in the market misleading the people. We installed a billboard and they pulled it down,” he said, stressing that the developer would not take over the market from the trader as special preference would be given to them to subscribe first before others on completion.
On completion, Onyekachi said the market would have banking hall, police post, car park, a garage where trailers from the North would offload their wares, fire station, among others.