Ministry Considers Flood-control Measures Devoid of Demolition
The Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources has said it will consider alternative measures to re-establish drainage setbacks in the Lekki area of the state which will be devoid of demolition. This was stated by the Commissioner, Tokubo Wahab, during a meeting with owners of properties marked for demolition for encroaching on the right of way of canals and drainages in the area.
“The state would be humane in its approach to reclaim the drainage right of way and will give property owners the opportunity to proffer a solution to the reclaiming of the setback till a particular date in order to reduce the number of structures that would be affected,” he said.
He, however, warned that failure by the property owners to present a workable solution within a given period would lead to action by the state’s enforcement team to avert flooding.
Some of the estates with buildings blocking canal pathways included Lekki County, Ikota GRA, Megamunds Estate, Ajiran, Agungi, Orchid, Oral II and environs.
Speaking further, the commissioner explained to the representatives from Megamunds Estate that the System 44A that cut through Ikota GRA and Megamunds was a 19.5 meters (width) channel now blocked by Ikota GRA and Lekki County property owners and residents. He said the 31 metres drainage alignment would be re-established and a 6 metres setback on both sides would be recovered.
He said all property owners whose fences fell within the drainage setback would be served mandatory contravention notices as the law demands while enforcement would be the last option.
Also, as part of his effort to avert flooding in Lagos, the commissioner inspected some areas in Ikoyi, including Dodan Barracks, during which he expressed satisfaction with the level of the cleaning of drainages at the Mammy Market in the area.
However, during his visit to Shoreline Estate, Onikoyi Estate, Park View and Banana Island, the commissioner lamented that most structures in the areas did not observe the standard three metres required by law for the setback of secondary collector drains.
“On investigation, we found out that the first property situated along Onikoyi/ Banana Island collector situated inside Onikoyi Estate left 2.5metres for the drainage setback and for us to have a balanced situation we will magnanimously adopt 2.5 metre which is smaller than the three metres required by law,” he said.
Giving the property owners a seven-day ultimatum to move their fences away from the channel, he warned that they would be surcharged for expenses incurred if the state government used taxpayers’ money to move the fences.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services, Engr. Olalekan Shodeinde, in a chat with Castles Lifestyle, revealed why the ministry opted for lenient measures in dealing with encroachment on wetlands.
He said, “Our mandate is to solve the flooding problem. Talk to any engineer, you will know that there is no one solution to solve any problem. There are always alternatives and options, and options depend on the circumstances. We gave the so-called encroachers the option to bring their own engineers. The government is not lording it over anybody on what to do. We agreed that there is a problem and we said let’s jointly as stakeholders solve it together. We won’t say we know it all. We respect public opinion too. But nobody will suffer as a result of what we are doing, never.”
Asked to state the appropriate setback that needs to exist between a canal and a landed property, Shodeinde said, “It varies. What you call a canal is just the provision or the natural pathway for water. The design capacity is not what you are seeing. So, you need to apply to our office to get that specific space. Every channel has a right of way, it is not a one-size-fits-all-all. It is an engineering structure properly designed to have a capacity. The natural thing you are seeing is not the capacity of that canal. So, you need to apply with us with your survey and we will tell you the dimensions we need to provide away from the right of way of that channel.”
