The Lagos State government has begun demolishing illegal structures obstructing drainage channels in Eti-Osa along the System 157 and Orchid Road waterways. The demolition comes after the property owners failed to honour an agreement to minimise their impact on the drainage paths.
While sharing the update on X, Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said that the affected property owners had neglected the agreed redesigned plan despite several months of negotiations.
Wahab’s post read, “After several months of stakeholder engagements with property owners built on Systems 156 and 157 drainage paths, the agreements to implement the agreed redesigned plan which were not honoured/neglected by the community, the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources commenced removal of illegal structures built on the canal along the System 157 – Orchid Road – Eti Osa drainage channels to de-flood the area.”
The dispute over these illegal encroachments began in December 2023 when state government delegates notified property owners that their properties were blocking key drainage channels and worsening flooding.
The property owners had acknowledged that they were encroaching on the waterways and asked for more time to find solutions. However, they failed to meet the government’s deadline to present viable alternatives, leading to the current demolition operation.
Recently, the Lagos State Government has been actively removing structures that block major drainage channels as part of the ongoing efforts to mitigate the severe flooding issue in the state.
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