Pelly Foam Industries Limited owner, ‘Dapo Davies along with traders in the affected building located at Dugbe, Ibadan have appealed to Governor ‘Seyi Makinde to intervene and approve their renovation request.
This appeal was made in a letter sent to the governor by the law firm, S.O Sanni & Co and made available to journalists today. In the letter, the traders expressed their surprise that a year after all relevant documents had been sent to the appropriate agencies, their renovation permit/approval had still not yet been granted.
It was further stressed in the letter that they had been made aware that Governor Makinde had been misinformed about them having pending court cases that were holding up the renovation permit. They urged the governor to ask the agencies for the court injunction delaying the renovation approval.
They also appealed to the governor to intercede on their behalf with the relevant agencies so that they could get their long-awaited renovation permit. They further explained that this was so they could start work and not have to worry about the whole building collapsing.
In the letter, they reiterated again that no court anywhere in Nigeria had granted an injunction barring them from being granted a renovation permit. Again, they stated that the walls of the building right now are a danger to the lives of traders and people who visit the building.
Some details from the letter titled; ‘Appeal For Permission To Renovate The Property Situate At No 1, Lebanon Street, Dugbe, Ibadan, Gutted By Fire On The 15th, April 2020’, are: “Your Excellency, the above mentioned property was gutted by fire on the 15th, April 2020 where substantial part of the building was adversely affected.
“Your Excellency took time out of your ever busy schedule to visit the premises and lamented the extent of damage done to the building which is located at the Central Business District of Ibadan.
“Your Excellency in your usual magnanimity gave out palliative to settle the traders affected by the fire incident which our client appreciated and still appreciating.
“Our client was directed to produce to produce a renovation permit for approval by the relevant government agencies which was promptly done and submitted to the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey and the Town Planning Department, a building plan which is most unnecessary.
“Submission of the building plan was based on the advice of the Town Planning Department which is strange to all known Town Planning Laws where a building is gutted by fire.
“We however regret to note Your Excellency that the government department responsible for approval of building plans has refused to approve the renovation permit for almost one year after the fire incident.
“We heard from the grapevine that Your Excellency was informed that there are pending cases in court which is farther from the truth. The truth is that one King Zion took our client to court in 2003, years before the fire incident and various cases in court has nothing to do with the fire incident. We urge Your Excellency to kindly demand a copy of the said injunction granted by the court”.
