Lagos State government yesterday decried encroachment of the natural drains and major drainage channels in Agboyi-Ketu area of the state, saying it would embark on demolition of illegal structures built on drainage channels and wetlands in the area.
Speaking while monitoring the June edition of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Agboyi –Ketu Local Council Development Area, the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, who disclosed this, said the illegal structures are blocking free flow of flood in the area.
He said: "A lot of demolition will have to go on in those areas. There are many houses that have to be demolished. Places where structures shouldn't have been erected, residents have done that. There is no way that this can continue in Lagos.
"That area has already been marked for demolition. And we have all seen that a lot of houses will have to be pulled down. We saw many houses erected on this canals already sinking. We cannot allow this to continue in the state.
"In the past, the wetland in Agboyi-Ketu was very beautiful but today people have encroached on it. And this is a two-way issue. If one encroaches on such land, nature will strike back".
Bello explained that the demolition is necessary to avert looming danger as a result of flooding, saying if nature is allowed to strike; a lot of lives will be lost. He added that government will soon embark on massive construction and dredging of canals in the state. "Last year, the drainages were dredged effectively.
That was why at that place when I was addressing the residents, I told them that we are disappointed with the level of sanitation. "The government can only support them to some certain level.
But the government will not encourage dumping of refuse into the canals. "However, we will go back and dredge the canals again. The resident must then play their own part by ensuring that the places are cleaned always and desist from dumping refuse into the canals".
The commissioner, therefore, appealed to the council leaders and residents not to wait until government officials visit their council before they partake in the environmental sanitation exercise.
Charging the council chairmen to sensitise the public on the danger of environmental degradation, Bello said that such information will help the government act faster on such challenges.
National Mirror