Drainages: Lagos convenes stakeholders meeting with property owners, residents

Lagos State Government has convened a stakeholders meeting with property owners and residents on the corridors of Awolowo Road, Ribadu and Norman Williams drainage channel.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Mr Adekunle Adeshina on Wednesday in Lagos.

The government has also giving all those that have contravened the state environmental laws and whose fences fall within two metres of the channel setback on both sides till Friday to remove them.

Speaking with the property owners and residents at Alausa, the State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, said that Lagos was committed to re-establishing the drainage setback.

He said that the drainage setback had now been magnanimously fixed at two metres on both sides.

Wahab, represented by the Special Adviser to Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Environment, Kunle Rotimi-Akodu, told the attendees that the ministry would send its officials to the area on Friday to ascertain the compliance level.

“Contravention notices have been served on all affected properties.

“All the property owners are representatives from Alhaji Kannike, Norman Williams, Awolowo Road, Raymond Njoku, Ribadu and Keffi Roads.

“For those who have more than fences on the setback, an immediate decision will be taken after Friday.

“This problem has persisted for long causing the flooding of the State House at Dodan Barracks because access to clean the channel had been blocked by obstructions in terms of structures,” the commissioner said.

He reminded the property owners and residents that the natural setback for all drainage channels was three metres but the ministry decided to put a human face to its decision, which brought about the reduction to two metres.

Wahab explained that in the overriding interest of the majority, the state government would not fold its arms and allow the infraction on the Awolowo, Ribadu and Norman Williams Roads drainage channel to continue.

He said that the operatives of the ministry had commenced the cleaning of the channel from the upstream at Dodan Barracks but had to slow down so that the issues of encumbrances on the setback could be sorted before work resumes.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services and Water Resources, Mr Lekan Shodeinde, urged the property owners to see the bigger picture of satisfying the majority of residents of the affected areas.

He said that just as the drone footage of the areas played back at the meeting showed, almost all the buildings had extended beyond their original approved plan one way or the other.

“It is in your best interest to make use of the window offered by the state government to remove the infractions yourselves, instead of waiting till the government intervenes which may make the infractions non-salvageable.

Also present at the meeting were the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Gaji Omobolaji Tajudeen and directors in the Ministry.