The Lagos State Government has issued an apology to residents and commuters affected by the recent floods, which left many stranded and numerous areas submerged.
Tokunbo Wahab, the Lagos State Commissioner of Environment and Water Resources, apologised during Thursday’s edition of Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
He said, “I will start by saying to Lagosians, ‘We are sorry for the inconvenience caused due to nature’s cause yesterday morning.”
The torrential rains, which persisted for hours, resulted in gridlock for motorists and stranded commuters, halting economic activities in Nigeria’s commercial capital.
Many residents criticized the government for its perceived lack of planning to prevent such flooding, especially given similar incidents in previous years.
However, the commissioner clarified that the flooding was not due to inadequate planning by the government.
“It’s not for failure to plan that we had what happened yesterday,” Wahab explained. “No, it was nature taking its full course.
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And we are sorry for those whose lives were disrupted: they could not go to work, they could not go to their marketplaces, they couldn’t go to school.”
He emphasized that the Lagos State Government had anticipated the situation and deployed a team early in the day to manage the floods.
“Emergency teams were on the ground since around 4 a.m. I’ve been up since around 4 a.m. yesterday,” the commissioner said.
He also mentioned that efforts are ongoing to reduce the impact of future floods, highlighting the importance of community cooperation in keeping drainage systems clear and following waste management protocols.
Wahab reaffirmed the government’s dedication to enhancing infrastructure and drainage systems to better manage such natural events in the future.
He urged residents to remain patient and collaborate with authorities as they work towards finding lasting solutions to the flooding issues.