Lagos State Government on Sunday demolished shanties and illegal structures at the popular abattoir in Oko-Oba in Agege.
The exercise which started around 7am was monitored by officials of the state government.
There was also heavy presence of the security agents to maintain law and order during the exercise.
Those affected by the demolition were seen crying and wailing as some of them were not smart enough to pack their belongings before the shanties were pulled down.
Addressing newsmen during the exercise, Toyin Suarau, Commissioner for Agriculture stated that the state government has been on the matter for about six months to ensure that there is peace and harmony in the place during and after the demolition.
“You can see that there is no crisis. We achieved our aim in peace; we had stakeholders’ meetings eight times with the people at the abattoir and carried everyone along.
“They all agreed to go along with government, to do what government wants and to ensure we have good and wholesome meat for the people of Lagos state.”
Suarau also said what the state government is doing is for the benefit of those in the abattoir because they are the ones doing their businesses there, adding that government wants to set standards in the abattoir to attract the presence of the international community to patronise the abattoir.
“We want to set standards as it is being done in other countries. This is the motive behind this exercise and we are happy the people here are ready to work with us.
Speaking further he said after the demolition exercise, government has lined up projects that could be carried out in the place. He also explained that government wants to build a transit camp for them and will also upgrade the abattoir to internally accepted standard.
“We want to upgrade the place to standard; we want to rebuild, clean up the place and to ensure the waste is well taken care of.
Government has programme and I believe we will be following it up one after the other one in another six months you will see the difference,” he said.
However Suarau said government is not sending them away from the place that a space has been provided for them to build temporary house which they have done.
“That is part of the meeting we did with them to so that they can be doing their transactions before the transit camp will be ready. we all agreed to that so we are not sending them away,” he added.