Automobile operators want demolition of workshops in Lagos stopped

Informal sector workers, under the aegis of the Nigeria Automobile Technician Association (NATA), have appealed to the Lagos State Government to intervene in the ongoing demolition of mechanic villages across the state.Comrade Emmanuel Ayodele, NATA's General Secretary, Lagos State chapter, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the association was unhappy with the development.``Our members are not happy about the demolition of mechanic villages across the state. It has created a lot of unemployment in the sector and some of our members are now motorcycle operators,'' he said.Ayodele also said that the National Automotive Council had written letters to the 19 states of the federation whose governments had agreed to provide land for NATA members to build modern mechanic workshops, insisting that this would enhance their activity.``If the Lagos State Government can comply and give us some hectares to enable our members to build their modern workshops, it will help NATA members to complement the government's mega-city project,'' he said.On the level of training, Ayodele said that the more than 10,000 informal workers from various parts of the federation had participated in automobile training activity, both within and outside the country.``Some of our members are well trained international automechanics who have worked in automobile companies before establishing their own. Some are retired, while some were laid off because of the closure of their companies,'' Ayodele said.The association's scribe added that Oyo and Osun had already released land for the building of the mechanic villages in their states.He urged the Lagos State Government to emulate those states, so as to enable it to stem the level of insecurity in the state.
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