Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, has said that Lagos State Government will begin the enforcement operations in Apapa to re-establish the three metres drainage Right of Way for all its drainage channels.
Wahab made this announcement while speaking with newsmen after an inspection tour to check the level of compliance, adding enforcement activities will commence on Monday, March 11.
He noted that the enforcement activities is coming after the expiration of notices and convening of stakeholders meetings with property owners, to voluntarily move their fences that fall within the drainage setback earlier in 2024.
“We want to check the state of collectors in Apapa in order to evacuate and treat the Collectors; the whole of the Collectors in this area are blocked and the right of way taken over by individuals who moved their fences in order to aquire extra land thereby denying us access to the drains,” Wahab said.
The Commissioner also inspected Rock Drive in Lekki I following a major complaint that some individuals engaged in conversion of a purely residential area into a diesel depot.
While directing immediate enforcement, Wahab stated that the illegal depot poses the risk of a major fire outbreak in the area.
He said, “Let us compliment Governments effort in ensuring that Lagos is a flood free state by being decent in our waste disposal behaviour.”
The Special Adviser on Environment, Mr. Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, who also spoke to journalists during the inspection noted that the state government is committed to finding a realistic solution to the flooding issue across the state.
