• Says it has put resilient infrastructure in place
• FG urges states, councils to tackle flooding
Lagos State Government has apologised to residents of the state for dislocation experienced as a result of the intensive rainfalls on Wednesday.
The state’s Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, who made the appeal, yesterday, during the syndicated interview programmes across different television channels in Lagos, said that the state government had put in place resilient infrastructure that can withstand the effects of flash flooding.
Wahab also sympathised with a resident of the state who reportedly lost a loved one as well as others who lost property due to the torrential rainfall.
He said that the sea level was very high while it rained and the effect was felt around areas such as Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki, and all the pennisular corridors where the storm water is designed to discharge into the Lagoon.
Wahab, therefore, advised Lagosians in the Upland areas, such as Agege, Alimosho and Ikeja, to be calm, saying that the state government had built resilient infrastructure that would discharge storm waters into the Creeks and Lagoons within a few hours after the rain subsides.
According to him, flash-flood happens globally and what we can do as a government is to embrace and live with nature. Wahab said that the Emergency Flood Abatement Gang (EFAG) created to intervene in clearing blackspots had been on ground but the water level was high and it would take a while for the storm water to discharge into the Lagoon and Ocean.
MEANWHILE, the Federal Government has released essential preventative measures to sub-national governments on tackling the current threat of flooding nationwide.
Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, who gave the hint while speaking on the current situation of flood in the country on Wednesday, underscored the urgent need for preventive measures as the country grapples with widespread flooding that had already affected over 10 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) since April this year. He, therefore, urged the state governments to heed to early warnings and implement preventive measures as advised by relevant authorities.
The minister stressed the need for collaborative efforts among federal, state, and local councils to effectively mitigate flood impacts and safeguard public safety.
The Lagos State commissioner further said the ministry had strengthened its drainage enforcement activities in ensuring due diligence concerning all drainage channels and restoring Right of Ways (RoW) on all channels while it continues its intense all year round clearing and cleaning of major primary and secondary drainage channels.
He, however, appealed to residents to desist from the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the drainages, roads and other unauthorised places and support government’s efforts by ensuring the regular clearing of drainages in front of their houses for free-flow of water.
He also encouraged residents to become whistle-blowers for the government, saying that it is high time residents took ownership of all infrastructure and also endeavour to give information to the government when the need arises.
