COMPASSIONATE APPEAL TO LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT FOR THE REOPENING OF BUSINESS PREMISES AROUND EKO PLAZA ON DAVIES STREET ADJACENT BREADFRUIT STREET, LAGOS ISLAND

COMMITTEE FOR THE PROTECTION

OF PEOPLES MANDATE (CPPM)

26a Adesina Street, Off Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja, Lagos.

E-mail: cppmandate@gmail.com

Telephone: 07033853232, 08023172694

07/12/2012

PRESS STATEMENT

COMPASSIONATE APPEAL TO LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT FOR THE REOPENING OF BUSINESS PREMISES AROUND EKO PLAZA ON DAVIES STREET ADJACENT BREADFRUIT STREET, LAGOS ISLAND

The Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM) wish to use this medium to make a compassionate appeal to the Lagos State government to immediately reopen sealed up buildings and premises around Eko Plaza on Davies street, adjacent Breadfruit street on Lagos Island which have been closed down for over a month now due to a fire incident that gutted a building in that vicinity.

While we at CPPM appreciate the timely and safety conscious initiative of the Lagos state government in cordoning up the environment to avert further disaster as result of the fire incident, we are at a loss as to the reason for the continued sealing up of premises and building which were not affected by the fire incident for over a month now.

We expect that the authorities must have carried out an immediate forensic audit of buildings in the vicinity in order to determine the extent of damage and vulnerability of the surroundings to danger and allow others who are not affected to carry out their legitimate businesses.

We are making this appeal on compassionate grounds and due to the fact that the continued closure of unaffected buildings and business premises within the vicinity  have constituted grievous economic and social harm to the standard of living of  business owners whose means of livelihood have been greatly impaired. The loss of income to owners of such business whose premises have been sealed up in the vicinity in the last one month cannot be quantified. Most of these persons are petty traders and sole bread winners of their families in these trying economic times.

We are hereby calling the Lagos state government as a responsible and responsive government to immediately order the reopening of the closed down unaffected business premises and buildings so that the owners will not be allowed to continue wallowing in poverty that has become their lot lately and contribute their quota to the business growth of Lagos state.