The Lagos State Government says residents will keep experiencing flash flooding due to the realities of climate change and other environmental factors.
This is as the government maintained its commitment to ramp
up infrastructure to provide lasting solutions across the state.
The state Commissioner for the Environment and Water
Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, made this statement during a television interview on
Monday.
Wahab explained that in the last two years, the ministry had
cleaned over 50 kilometres of secondary collectors and dredged or maintained
about 38 primary channels across Lagos.
He also recalled the recent 14-hour torrential rainfall that
affected parts of Ikorodu, noting that remedial measures were immediately
deployed.
The commissioner further stated that a contractor had dammed
the downstream area to allow construction to proceed, but was instructed to
free it once the rains began so that storm water could recede.
According to him, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMEt,
had given an early forecast in March, prompting the ministry to begin massive
advocacy in April. Residents were briefed multiple times that rainfall this
year would surpass last year’s levels.
He stressed that climate change is a global reality, citing
examples of countries recently experiencing unprecedented flooding.
Speaking on drainage infrastructure, Wahab explained that
various contracts awarded in 2024 have an 18- to 24-month lifespan, and the
government would not compromise quality for speed.
The commissioner noted that temporary measures, including
pumping stations on Lagos Island, would continue to mitigate flooding until
permanent solutions are completed.
Ongoing projects include System 44 in Lekki, System 44A, and
the three-phase System 1 (Odo–Iyalaro) project, which channels stormwater from
Ikeja, Opebi, and Sheraton areas into the lagoon.
“We expected the rains and had resilient measures in place.
We have been doing massive advocacy and ramping up drainage infrastructure
statewide. We won’t lie to residents – flash flooding will occur, but we are
working to contain it,” Wahab said.
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