Flooding: Lagos orders residents to remove structures on drainages

LAGOS State government has asked residents who erected structures on drainages to remove them without further delay in order to ensure free flow of water and avoid flooding.

The directive came on the heels of  reports of annual flooding outlook and rainfall prediction released by the Nigeria Metrological Agency (NiMET) and Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA).

Special Adviser on Environment, Babatunde Hunpe, gave the directive on Saturday during the monthly environmental sanitation monitored in Odi-Olowo Ojuwoye  Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of the state.

The special adviser, while assuring the residents that the state government would ensure reconstruction of the drains to reduce rates of flooding in the council, contended that maintenance of drainages could only be undertaken with the removal of the structures that were sited on them.

Hunpe, however, called on residents to desist from depositing wastes in their drainages in order to aid effective evacuation of the waste in them. He  said the technical team of the ministry would “visit the area again on Monday to look at all these black spots after which they will speed into action.”

He said that the ministry would put environmental health inspectors in place to monitor the area after the drainages were cleared so that residents would be prohibited from dumping refuse in their drainages.

Speaking further, Hunpe said the issue of fencing of market was ongoing by the state government, adding that, “We are going to continue until every market in Lagos is fenced.”

Sole Administrator of Odi-Olowo Ojuwoye, Mr. Adekunle Julius, said the LCDA would cooperate with the state government to ensure proper flow of water in the drainages, assuring that “The monitoring team within the council would intensify their surveillance to ensure that residents adhere to sanitation laws in the state.”

Adekunle, who lamented that the canals in the council area required immediate attention to prevent cases of flooding, said, “We will be grateful if the state government can help clear the canals to avoid loss of life and property in the council.”