He stated that the purpose of the inspection tour was to determine the level of compliance by property owners whose buildings and fences are within the approved seven-metre setback on both sides of the channel.
The Lagos State Government has given a seven-day contravention notice to owners of buildings on Orchid Road, Agungi, Ajiran, Conservation Road, Osapa all along the Ikota River.
This was announced in a statement on X platform (formerly Twitter) handle of the director, public affairs, ministry of the environment and water resources, Kunle Adesina, on Monday in Lagos State.
Adesina stated that the commissioner, Tokunbo Wahab, made the declaration alongside the Special Adviser on the environment, Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, following a thorough inspection tour of the Ikota River corridor.
He stated that the purpose of the inspection tour was to determine the level of compliance by property owners whose buildings and fences are within the approved seven-metre setback on both sides of the channel.
Wahab charged Lagosians to respect the state drainage master plan to avoid property demolition.
He stressed that there was no going back on the decision of the state to enforce the law and reclaim drainage setbacks following the expiration of the notices issued.
The commissioner said the Nigerian Conservation Foundation had earlier written a petition complaining about several distortions, saying that there had been a lot of distortion on their roads.
He stated that the distortion had an impact on the natural habitat of animals in the foundation as well as on Orchid Road, where the drainage channel designed to carry stormwater from the communities into the Lagoon had been severely damaged.
He stated that Lagos State had been humane in its approach to reclaiming the drainage right of way, as evidenced by the reduction of the setback alignment from seven to six metres following a meeting with property owners to reduce the number of structures to be affected.
The statement reads: “We cannot keep lampooning government for flooding when developers, builders and residents are the main cause of flooding.
“We shall continue to enforce because that is why laws are made. Without law and order, there cannot be development, enough of this bad behaviour.”
"The commissioner and his team also visited Oral Estate II along system 156 Igbo Efon, where the primary channel was found to have been totally blocked by illegal structures without drainage approvals.
"The commissioner also went to Agungi, Ajiran, and Osapa, where notices had previously been served, and stated that final decisions would be made after assessing the level of encroachment on primary channel and secondary collector setbacks in the areas.
He explained that the commissioner noted that the System 156 Ikota River channel setback was originally 46 metres, but that property owners and residents along the corridor reduced it."
Wahab also went to Chevron Drive, where he issued a stop work order to Gravitas, the owners of Grace Ville Island and Pocket Island, for sand filling a section of the Ikota River, reducing the lagoon size from the original 250 metres designed to allow free flow of water.
“The lagoon is a natural path, people have started reclamation to cover up the path and narrow it; you cannot narrow the path of water, if you do, water will naturally create another path and this is dangerous for everyone,” Wahab said.
Adesina said that the commissioner had earlier in the day supervised the demolition of shanties on Thompson Avenue following petitions by residents that strange faces and ladies of easy virtues were always lining up the streets at night which is a security risk for the whole state and Ikoyi environs, especially.
“At 6am this morning, we came in and what we saw was unimaginable and we had to pull down these illegal structures, evacuate, make some arrest and charge them to court; by tomorrow we will have full possession of the land,” Wahab said.
He said the special adviser on environment noted that Lagos, despite its peculiarities as a coastal state with low-lying terrains and a high population density, among others, had remained afloat because of various measures put in place by the government.