The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has said that the Senate cannot stop the ongoing demolition of offices at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.
The offices belong to some agencies under the supervision of the Ministry of Aviation.
The minister said this while briefing State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The minister’s remark was a response to a motion by the Senate directing the federal government to halt the demolition, in order to allow the Senate Committee on Aviation, chaired by Senator Biodun Olujimi, to intervene.
“First of all, let’s put it in perspective, the intent of government is to remove the structure housing the office of the managing director of FAAN and those commercial buildings.
“It’s a structure that is made of wood; it has been there for 40 years. It has caught fire twice even during our administration. To give way for better development for what Lagos has become, it is the gateway; we want to put hotels there, shopping malls, offices, cinemas and the rest of it so FAAN can make more money and the rest of it.
“And the entire people in that entire building they are like 150 or 200. Government is going to continue of course, Senate is advisory, it’s an executive function, we are not bound by any court of law and government cannot be stopped from giving development to its people.
“Just the other day, some houses were demolished by the Lagos government on our camp. We have been on that issue for some time, we went up to Supreme Court and won and they had to give way for development. This is in national interest.
“There’s no individual that can drag it out with government. If I want to pull down this hall and build a better one, who is going to stop me as a government?” Sirika asked.