Sanwo-Olu’s aide apologizes to Lagos residents over flooding

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The heavy downpours last week and Saturday especially led Lagos to witness various flooding disasters that led to death and destruction of properties. 

Our source, the PUNCH said that a Lexus Jeep was swept away by a heavy flood around the Oyatoki area, Agege, and it took the help of the Emergency Responders to rescue the vehicle’s occupants from drowning.

On the heels of the flooding disaster, Joe Igbokwe, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s Special Adviser on Drainage and Water Resources, apologizes to Lagosians over the flooding disaster of Saturday.

He released the statement on Sunday; Igbokwe said that the flood could not be disassociated from Lagos being a coastal city.

His statement is as follows:

We acknowledge the damage done by flood in Lagos yesterday and the losses. We apologize most sincerely for the pains and tears. We share the pains with those affected. Lagos is a coastal city that is prone to flooding. Everybody knows this. Lagos has the smallest land mass in Nigeria, with 23 million Nigerians.

Speaking further, he lamented that Lagosians should desist from building their houses where they are not supposed.

It (Lagos) is the economic hub of Nigeria. Lagos generates more than 15,000 metric tons of refuse every day. We have low-line areas where people are not supposed to build houses, but Lagosians go there to build houses.

We have wetlands which serve as reservoirs to retain excess floods, but Lagosians will defy the law and go there to build houses. To make matters worse, some Lagosians dump refuse inside our drains or canals. Some build houses on our canal setbacks, making it difficult if not impossible for us to clear the drains. We need to change our habits to help us have flood-free Lagos. Lagos spends huge amount of money every year cleaning canals and aligning many of them with concretes.

We will reduce flooding issues if we behave ourselves. Flooding is a global thing due to Climate Change. The other day, I witnessed massive flooding in Sidney, Australia. You need to see the casualties. We will continue to do our best in matters of flood management in Lagos. We are appealing to Lagosians to help us.

Source

#Lagos Flood
#Sanwo-Olu
#Climate Change