June 4, 2018

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the Federal Government to transfer its abandoned property in Lagos to the state government or lease them to the private sector.

The President of LCCI, Mr Babatunde Ruwase, made the plea in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday.

Ruwase noted that several property belonging to the Federal Government in the state had been abandoned and left to rot away, adding that such assets constituted a vast economic waste.

“We urge the Federal Government to either return the property to the Lagos State Government which is the original owner of the land; or give them out on lease to the private sector,’’ he said.

Ruwase listed the property as: old Federal Secretariat, old National Assembly Complex at Tafawa Balewa Square, Independence Building that housed the Defence Ministry and former Federal Ministry of Commerce at Tinubu Square.

He noted that aside the economic waste, many of the buildings served as hideouts for hoodlums, criminals and posed security risks to residents.

Ruwase also called for patronage of indigenous engineers in construction industry, adding that their service was not efficiently utilised to boost their capacity and expansion.

He said that doing this would improve the country’s local content in public procurement with Science, Engineering and Technology and position Nigerian engineers to compete effectively in the global space.