The Lagos State Government, on Monday, issued a seven-day ultimatum to owners of buildings encroaching on road setbacks on Orchid, Agungi, and Ajiran Road along the Ikota River.
The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, gave the ultimatum during an inspection tour of the area on Sunday.
A statement on Monday quoted Wahab as explaining that the purpose of the inspection tour was to discover the compliance of property owners who had been offered the option to comply voluntarily with the approved seven-metre setback on both sides of the channel with regard to buildings and fences.
He urged Lagosians to adhere to the state drainage master plan in order to avoid having the state demolish their property.
The commissioner said, “We cannot keep lampooning the government for flooding when developers, builders, and residents themselves 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, this level of bad behaviour must stop.”
Additionally, the commissioner visited the Oral Estate II along System 156 Igbo Efon, where he discovered that unlawful buildings without drainage approvals had obstructed the primary channel.
He also visited Agungi, Ajiran, and Osapa, where notices had previously been issued.
The commissioner clarified that the System 156 Ikota River channel was originally 46 metres in length, noting that the residents and property owners along the corridor had shrunk it. He added that those who had violated the rules and whose properties were within the original channel setback on either side had seven days to remove them.
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