Lagos govt excludes Computer Village in relocation plans

By Emeka Aginam

Efforts to relocate the Nigerian Silicon Valley, the Computer Village Ikeja may not have yielded the expected resulted as the President of the Computer and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria, (CAPDAN) Mr Tunji Balogun has said that the umbrella body has been excluded by the Lagos State Government from the relocation plans.

Balogun in media report disclosed that CAPDAN initiated the need to relocate the market to a better place because of the challenges being experienced by the traders.

He said that CAPDAN had written a letter to former Governor of the Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu asking for a better environment that will house an ICT hub for the state.

“The Governor bought the idea and they gave us a land at Katangowa market where we were supposed to have developed by now. But because of official bottleneck, the plans are yet yield any result. What he did was trying to build Computer Village on their own without engaging the tenants and would-be-tenants.

For Balogun, building the Computer Village without the input of the ICT traders. “We have done everything in our capacity to work with the Ministry of Environment that is in charge of Computer Village relocation. They are not giving us any help and we need to forge ahead” he said.

According to him, the LSG had given CAPDAN two plots of land, one at Kotangowa while another one is at Aminkanle. relocate them to Aminkanle at own cost” he explained.

But be that as it may, the issue of relocation of Computer Village has been characterized by interest group. There has been divided interest between the CAPDAN and Teck Park members who form the major dealers in the highest African ICT market.

Promoters of Tech Park back in years has already acquired large plots of land at Guan land, Ogun state said to be the new Computer Village. What s left for the traders is to decide where to move because of the available options