Mechanics beg Ambode to reconsider deadline to quit site

Scores of motor mechanics that were given the marching order by Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode to vacate a portion of land at Oko-Baba, near Adekunle in Ebute Meta area of Lagos have called on the governor to reconsider the seven-day ultimatum he gave them to quit the site, saying that they needed more time […]

Scores of motor mechanics that were given the marching order by Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode to vacate a portion of land at Oko-Baba, near Adekunle in Ebute Meta area of Lagos have called on the governor to reconsider the seven-day ultimatum he gave them to quit the site, saying that they needed more time to look for a better location from which they could carry out their vocation.

Ambode had last week, while on a working visit to Ebute- Meta, ordered the mechanics to move out of the site within seven days and relocate to Agbowa in the Ikorodu Local Government Area where a place had been reserved for them, while promising to transform the mechanic’s present site to a recreation park to boost for tourism in the state.

He also ordered the mechanics to remove all the abandoned vehicles in their workshops in the area, adding that his administration planned to complete the recreation park project before May 2017 when Lagos State would be 50 years old

He expressed dissatisfaction with the alleged refusal of the mechanics to vacate the site despite repeated notice, adding that it was important for them to appreciate that the land was needed for overall public interest of the state. He also ordered all traders in the area to move to the special site prepared for them in Agbowa by January 2016.

But the mechanics, who staged a peaceful protest under the aegis of Nigeria Automobile Technician Association (NATA) late last week, said that the site from which they were now being ejected, was once a shanty and an abode for criminal elements and that they took possession of the place with the permission of the state government.

The mechanics argued that though they were not refusing to leave the place but the sevenday ultimatum was too short for them to meet, particularly when majority of them lived near the site with their immediate families and dependants.

Besides, they claimed that the Agbowa community where the governor directed them to relocate was too far, pointing out that having lived in Ebute- Meta for long, it would be too difficult for them to move their families and the vehicles in their workshops, even as they expressed fear of losing their customers as a result of the relocation order.

Speaking during the protest at Oko-Baba where their workshop was located, the mechanics, through their branch Chairman of NATA, Wahab Junaid, recalled the several efforts made by the association to secure the place and develop it thereafter. "We spent over N30 million to develop this place to its present status," the mechanics said. Junaid, who displayed various documents to show that the local and state governments gave approval of the land in question, addedthatthefederalgovernment gotN122,500fromthemechanics annually as rent.

He said that they were ready to quit the site, but the government should provide an alternative place which should not be too far from the present site for them.

"We are begging the governor to please reconsider the ultimatum and find a better alternative for us to ply our trade. Agbowa is too far; we have settled here for long and as family men, our families are also living here with us. Also, it would amount to loss of business because our customers know that this is the place where they can locate us whenever they are looking for us," he said. Also speaking, the branch Vice-Chairman of NATA, Adebayo Sulaiman, appealed to Governor Ambode to reconsider the deadline, adding that it would be difficult for the members who were more than 4,000 to meet the deadline. "We are begging the governor to let us remain here until a better alternative is found for us.

We are more than 4,000 working here. We are family men. We are begging the governor; he is our man and that is why we voted for him," he stated.