In a bid to save their businesses, traders at Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos State, have appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and other authorities, opposing an alleged plan by the Police Wives Association to demolish the POWA Plaza within a month.
As gathered by Quest Times, the Computer Dealer Association, led by chairman Tayo Shittu, argued that the traders pay annual fees ranging from N300,000 to N400,000, accusing POWA of pursuing selfish interests in wanting to dismantle the plaza.
“We have reached out to POWA and they denied the letter saying that they do not know anything about it but we have a copy of the letter of acknowledgment. They want to use the excuse that the building has defects but it is a lie,” Shittu said.
He also asserted that an integrity test by LABSCA has deemed the building safe, while some traders have paid fees up to 2028.
“We have up to 1,000 occupants in the plaza. We have gone to LABSCA and they conducted an integrity test on the building and said it is very okay. Some of them pay N300,000 while others pay N400,000 to the landladies every year and the most painful part is that some people have paid till 2026 and 2028.”
Also, former chairman, Trust Tobechukwu revealed the plaza is owned by the Police Wives Association, including widows and retired officers’ spouses.
“This plaza is owned by the Police Wives Association, some of them are widows while some are wives of retired police officers. Sometime in 2019, the plaza was marked for demolition and when we inquired, we discovered that it was not from the right source. We discovered it was a developer that had a connection that wanted to connive underneath,” Tobechukwu said.
Despite appeals, the association has not responded to concerns raised by the dealers, who fear displacement from their livelihoods.
Moreover, Iya Oloja, Abisola Azeez, suggested resolving issues between traders and shop owners rather than disrupting their income source.
She explained, “My shop has been here since 1999. POWA always gives us issues here. We have our individual landlady. The traders are responsible for all the maintenance and development of the plaza. They want to dislodge us and bring in new people.
“The plaza is a one-storey building and it does not have any structural defect. If they need an increase in payment or if there are any issue we need to resolve, they should tell us so we can resolve everything.”
Moreso, traders like Chimaeze Iwuji, expressed concern over a 30-day demolition threat without proper documentation from authorities, hinting at a collaboration between a developer and select POWA members.
“They told us they had 30 days to demolish the buildings. We told them to give us a proper letter from the appropriate authorities, they said no, we do not have any right to speak and we all felt intimidated. From all indications, it involves a developer and one or two people from POWA to demolish this place,” Iwuji said.
Efforts to reach POWA liaison officer Omoh Oziegbe for comment have been unsuccessful as at the time of filing this report.