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Traders under the aegis of Balogun Traders Association last Tuesday sang discordant tunes as they disagreed over the concessioning of the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex located along the Mile 2-Badagry Expressway.

While some of the traders kicked against the bringing in of a new manager to oversee activities at the trade fair because of alleged negligence of those entrusted with the management of the fair ground, others wanted the place to be left in the hands of the old managers.

One of the traders, Mrs Promise Anaroke, told Daily Sun that the association was protesting because of the poor operational management of the international trade fair.
According to her, the bad state of the fair was due to the poor management of the traders who resume in the trade fair about 11 a.m. and close before 2 p.m. without doing any thing to put the place in good shape afterwards.

She lamented that after the huge amount spent to erect the structure in the fair, it was abandoned to waste, adding that most of the buildings were dilapidated while touts occupy some of the building, turning them to their home.

She advised that the fair be privatized to pave way for people who can manage the place well.
Her words: "This place should be privatized so that it can be developed and properly manned because most of the buildings are dilapidated, some with leaking roof and there are no accessible roads, whenever there is downpour, this is a big problem to the people who do business here".
She noted that anybody who defaults the idea of concessioning the fair should be properly questioned to ascertain if the person loves this country or hates it, adding that the fair cannot be compared with what is obtainable outside Nigeria.

But the President, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Mr Taiwo Akinola, kicked against the concessioning, saying that it was not right while questioning the authority BPE has to concession the trade fair when the government under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo had rejected the move.
He said the concessioning should be reversed to avoid third party dispute as the concessioning will put so many people, mostly the new staff out of job with the pensioners left to suffer.

However, the Concessionaire and Director of Aulic Nigeria Limited, Mr Geff Nwokolo, condemned the protest, saying that the government concessioning the trade fair to their company for 30 years was in a bid to make sure that the place is properly managed.
He disclosed that the concessioning bid was N40 billion, which would spread over the 30 years of the concessioning.

He stated that the concessioning was due to the poor management of the fair, which made it conducive for the traders to go about their businesses conveniently.
Nwokolo promised to make sure the trade fair is properly managed with all the dilapidated buildings rehabilitated, including the roads while making sure the whole bushes covering the surroundings are cleared.
He promised to build quarters for some of the traders who would be interested to live in the place with schools made available while make the fair exhibit at least once in a month to make it comes alive and become African trade centre.