10th March, 2024
The Lagos state Government says it will begin demolition of properties erected on drainage alignment in Apapa area of the state from Monday.
The government said the enforcement operations in Apapa was to re-establish the three metres drainage right of way for all its drainage channels.
Speaking with newsmen after an inspection tour to check the level of compliance, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab said the enforcement activities was coming after the expiration of notices and convening of stakeholders meetings with the property owners to voluntarily move their fences that fall within the drainage setback earlier in the year.
He said the Ministry had served contravention notices to the buildings on the drainage setbacks, adding that for several years, the ministry had not been able to access the eight major collectors for maintenance purpose due to encroachment which is a major contributor to flooding issues being experienced in the Apapa.
He said the state Government was determined to finding a lasting solution to the flooding issues in Apapa while directing enforcement officers to ensure that all contravening properties were removed from the drainage right of way in accordance with the three metres required by law, assuring that the State would not cherry-pick properties during the enforcement process.
“We want to check the state of collectors in Apapa in order to evacuate and treat the collectors; the whole of the collectors in this area are blocked and the right of way taken over by individuals who moved their fences in order to acquire extra land, thereby denying us access to the drains,” he said.
The Commissioner also inspected Rock Drive in Lekki Phase I following a major complaint that some individuals engaged in conversion of a purely residential area into a diesel depot directing immediate enforcement, saying that the illegal depot posed the risk of a major fire outbreak in the area.
He directed the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) to seal up the property while the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) officials demolish and arrest individuals found at the illegal shanties built around the depot and thereafter tow away the diesel trucks and vehicles stationed at the illegal depot.
He also visited Aunty Ayo Collector drain in Ikoyi where he expressed satisfaction with the ongoing cleaning of the drainage channels, sounding a note of warning to residents who usually engage in the unwholesome acts of indiscriminate refuse dumping to desist from such act even as rainy season is here.
“Let us complement government’s effort in ensuring that Lagos is a flood-free state by being decent in our waste disposal behaviour,” he said.
Wahab hinted that following the expiration of relocation notices issued to all squatters occupying illegal shanties around the Lagos coastal road in Mayegun, Lekki area of Lagos, enforcement would commence fully next week.
The Special Adviser on Environment, Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu said government was determined to find a realistic solution to the flooding issue across the state by embarking on all year round drainage cleaning measures to control flooding.
He added that it was necessary for residents to also clean the tertiary drains that run across residences regularly while the Ministry has been consistently de-silting and working on various linkages to the secondary and primary channels to enable them discharge efficiently.