Friday, January 24, 2025 - The Lagos State government on Thursday, Jan. 23, issued a 48-hour ultimatum to traders operating under Apongbon Bridge and traders operating on the drainage setbacks on Lagos Island to vacate.
The Commissioner for the Environment and
Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, issued the notice while addressing the media
after an inspection tour of the Savage/Elegbata Bombata Drainage channel around
the Olowogbowo/Apongbon axis on Lagos Island.
He noted that negative human activities in
the axis massively contribute to flooding and pose serious threats to lives and
property.
Wahab explained that the tour became
necessary because it was observed that the setbacks of these two critical
drainage collectors, which are Bombata/Olusi and the Alagbafo collector, have
been converted into shops/stalls.
He added that these channels were initially not captured in the Lagos Island
regeneration process, and this could hamper the success of the
regeneration.
He said: “I have instructed that the
shop/stall owners be served abatement notices. We are going to clear these
infractions and keep the maintenance work going while ensuring that the
contract is revisited to accommodate these two collectors.”
Wahab, who observed during the inspection
that traders selling livestock had also converted under Apongbon Bridge into a
ranch and livestock market, thereafter, ordered the immediate relocation of the
livestock traders to designated markets, saying they contributed to the
blockage of the two collectors in the area.
“What we saw is not something that we are
happy about. People have fully built on setbacks and drainage channels, and
when you build structures on these infrastructures, how do you expect them to
be maintained?
“We have abused these infrastructures, and
I have given directives to the appropriate department to serve a notice of
abatement. If compliance is not carried out, enforcement will commence,” he
added.
The commissioner said the government cannot
fold its hands and allow anyone to turn Lagos State into a Hobbesian state,
where life becomes nasty, brutish, and short, saying that infrastructures are
built for public use, but some people have turned them into their shops. He
said that the state government would stop this bad behaviour immediately.
He said all concerned stall owners would be
served contravention/abatement notices, while ministry officials would return
to monitor the level of compliance after 48 hours.
The commissioner warned developers and
residents who dump building materials on the roads and drainage channels,
causing serious blockages to the natural flow of water, to desist from such
acts. He also ordered the immediate sealing of two buildings under
construction—one on Alakoro Martins Street (No. 109) and another in Ebute Ero
Market—for dumping building materials on the drainage channels.
He said the buildings were sealed because
they stacked their building materials on the drainage system, which is illegal
as it blocks the drainage system in the process.
“The buildings were sealed because they stacked their building materials
on the drainage system, and this is illegal because they block the drainage
system in the process. Such offenders will be required to remove the materials
and clean the drainage system before they are unsealed,” Wahab stated.
The inspection covered areas including Savage Lane, Cole Street, George
Street, Abu Lane, Apongbon Underbridge, Olowogbowo, and Alakoro Martins
Street.
Officials present included the Permanent Secretaries of the Environment
Ministry, representatives from the Lagos Waste Management Authority, Lagos
State Waste Management Office, and other agencies.
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