Following the sack of the concessionaire in charge of the Lagos International Trade Fair complex, Aulic Nigeria Limited, by the Federal Government, over non-remittance of lease fees worth N6 billion, industry experts have commended the National Council on Privatisation for carrying out the directive of the government to the letter.
The Chairman, Stakeholders Forum, Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Mr. Jude Okeke, described the development as a re-birth for the complex.
He said, “The illegalities perpetrated over the years by the concessionaire have been unfair to the system, as they vary from the non-remittance of the lease fees to the alleged eviction of the management board from the administrative building, among others.
“By design, the management board is supposed to be the landlord of the complex, overseeing all the activities within and around it. We have been in the wilderness for a long time and this has caused a lot of losses in financial, trade and other aspects.”
The Managing Director, Excel Consult, Engr. Tunde Oluwole, averred that Aulic Nigeria had breached the agreement it signed in 2007 with the Federal Government.
According to him, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, had on November 20, issued a directive that the concessionaire be evicted from the complex and this was smoothly carried out.
The Executive Director, Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Mrs. Lucy Ajayi, said the board would now be able to perform its statutory function and move the complex to greater heights.
Ajayi assured shop owners that they were in an era of new change, stating that the board would do its best to ensure that their interests were taken into
consideration.
“I want to thank you all for your perseverance and endurance during those trying periods. I use this medium to assure you that all those injustices meted out to you in the time past are over,”
she said
