Kunle Adelabu
Chairman of the newly constituted board that will manage the Ikorodu Plaza at Ita – Elewa, Ikorodu, Prince Jamiu Adio Saka has stated that the first task before the body is to determine the status of occupants of the structure.
The Insurance guru and former Chairman of the Ikorodu Division Resource Development Group (IDRDG), said while delivering his acceptance speech on Friday, October 16 after their inauguration at the Ikorodu Local Government Secretariat.
The new board, which will serve for two years, has effectively taken over the management of the complex which was constructed to generate income for the council.
There have also been unending disagreements between the former management and tenants of the complex while most of its stalls are locked up despite its location in a high commercial area.
Prince Saka, while commending the council and leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ikorodu for the opportunity given to him and members of the committee, said that their first task is to determine the controversies surrounding the tenancy of the complex.
“The issue that we are going to consider first and foremost is the status of the lease holders and tenancy. The status is very important because it is on it that all other issues fall”, he said.
He stated that members of the new committee are experienced administrators and authorities in diverse fields and that they are determined to succeed in repositioning the plaza and making it an income generating property.
“I am happy that on the board, we have authorities on Local Government administration, board administrators, former Permanent Secretary, former member of House of Assembly and many more. So, one cannot but expect good performance”.
While further reacting to questions and observations by reporters, Prince Saka also stated that:
“In response to some of the comments, I can only say that God should give us the capacity to carry out our duties. There have been quite a number of interpretations as to what the complex represents.
“There is nothing in Nigeria as I know it today that (an individual) has total control over any property. All lands belong to the government and all lands vested on the Local Government belong to the Local Government”, he said.
“Once the occupancy positions are known, there would not be any conflict.
“We have also taken note of what the chairman has said in terms of revenue generation so as to be able to sustain the complex”.
He stated that there is no way that the new board will not interact with Arch. Taiwo Kara led management that oversaw the management of the Ikorodu Complex at Ita – Elewa.
“If you build a solid foundation, history will help you get where you are going. The documentation and management of the premises are held in trust by previous administrators of the complex and everybody would have to account positively to enable us to forge ahead”, he said.
“We appreciate all the efforts of past managers of the place and there is no way we will do anything without facility managers. We will find effective means of dealing with the situations without any confrontation”.
Ikorodu Local Government Chairman, Hon. Wasiu Adeshina, in his own response to some of the questions that bother on outright sale of stalls within the plaza to occupants and how the council expect the new management committee to generate fund, said:
“The Local Government is an institution that has the backing of the constitution. There is certain revenue that is accrued to us.
“Those shops might have been sold to different owners, but we still have power to collect storage from such owners”, he stated.
“Also, the committee is also to supervise and monitor the complex on behalf of the council. I don’t mind if they decide to allow the shop owners to form an association.
“They are to generate revenue that would be shared among the Ikorodu Local Government and other five LCDAs. Any other means of generating revenue for the council from the complex will be allowed. For example, the open space can be used for functions on weekends to bring in money”, he suggested.
“We know that members of the committee are greatly experienced with former Council Chairman, former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, former Permanent Secretary and others as members. We know that they will perform very well”.
Alhaji Monzor Kolawole Olowosago, the publisher of Oriwu Sun Newspaper and one of shop owners at the Ikorodu Plaza, had earlier stated that the former management team of the plaza was embroiled in crises with shop owners because they were asked to pay between N70, 000 and N80, 000 annually despite the fact that they bought the stalls outrightly from the council.
The publisher, who stated that many of the stall owners at the plaza were not given any legal document by the council regarding the ownership of their respective shops, added that the new management team should focus on bringing in more occupants into the plaza
To this end, he suggested that shop owners should be allowed to get prepaid meters individually and also make arrangements on how to pay for the cleaning and maintenance of the facility and how defaulters should be dealt with.
He revealed that some of the stalls in the complex were allocated to traditional rulers, government functionaries and others when it was completed.
