Sunday, February 11, 2024 -The Lagos State Government on Sunday gave a four-day relocation notice to all squatters under the Obalende bridge as well as illegal motor park operators and buses who have moved to the main roads.
The directive
came from the Commissioner for the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources,
Tokunbo Wahab and his counterpart in the transportation ministry, Oluwaseun
Osiyemi.
Wahab and Osiyemi alongside the Special Adviser on Environment, Kunle
Rotimi-Akodu, Transportation, Hon. Sola Giwa and Permanent Secretary,
Drainages, Engr Mahmood Adegbite also inspected Apongbon Underbridge, Ijora
Underbridge and Surulere opposite National Stadium, the Director of Public
Affairs, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Kunle Adeshina, said
in a statement on Sunday.
Speaking with
journalists after the inspection, Wahab said all shanties, dwellers, traders,
squatters and abandoned vehicles presently under the Obalende bridge must
vacate the area by Thursday afternoon as enforcement would commence in the
early hours of Friday.
He added that
all commercial vehicle operators who are on the main roads in Obalende must
relocate to the various parks provided for them because the “government has had
enough of the defacement of the aesthetics of Obalende by the operators and it
must now be restored”.
Wahab said there was no going back on the order given to the squatters and
motorists in Obalende which informed the presence of executives from the
transportation sector.
He also
inspected the ongoing clean-up of Apongbon Underbridge, Ebute Ero and other
areas.
He asked
monitoring state officials to ensure full compliance with Governor Babajide
Sanwo-Olu’s directive that there should be no form of trading or habitation
under the bridge and all adjoining areas.
“I will like to
state that I am happy with the level of compliance at Ijora, Apongbon &
Ebute Ero under bridge where the cleanup exercise commenced two weeks ago,” the
statement quoted Wahab as saying.
“The government
is set to sustain a clean and safe environment.”
He added that
in a matter of months, the space will be taken over by LASPARK.
He said the
State Parks and Gardens Agency would move in after the deadline to commence
work on the beautification and landscaping of Obalende Underbridge, Apongbon
Underbridge, and Ebute Ero Underbridge, stressing that the clean-up exercise
would spread across the state.
He said, “Most
of the places cleaned up are notorious sites that harbour criminals thereby
becoming threats to the Blue line rail project bridges that pass through Ijora
and one that the state government has invested huge resources in.”
Earlier at the Ilubirin end of Lagos
Island, Wahab described Ilubirin as strategic because the government is set to
regenerate Isale Eko and to do that there is a “need to get the outflow of
water through Ilubirin path”.
He recalled that the governor was at Isale
Eko late last year with the promise of regeneration, adding that the contractor
needs to speed up the pace of work to ensure that the project is completed
before the rainy season begins.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr.
Oluwaseun Osiyemi said his ministry’s collaboration with the Ministry of
Environment and Water Resources has been beneficial to the state government in
delivering its mandate.
He stated that
a park existed at Obalende for the use of motor park operators but has been
taken over by shanties and squatters.
He added that
immediately after the clean-up is done, the park operators will be compelled to
take over their parks and move away from the roads.
The Special
Adviser on Environment, Mr. Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu said the objective of the
exercise was clear, adding that the government means well for the people of
Lagos and as such the beauty of the state will be restored.
“This clean-up
exercise is necessary because illegal occupiers threaten our security and
hinder economic survival in the state. The yearning of the people is what the
government is out to achieve," he said
He urged all residents to ensure that they cooperate with the state government in its bid to have a cleaner and healthier Lagos.
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