Officials of the Lagos State Government, yesterday, visited and sympathised with residents of Ikorodu who were affected by the recent flash flood after over 13 hours of rainfall.
The officials allayed their fears and assured that necessary measures had been put in place to effectively manage the flash floods.
Special Adviser on Environment, Olakunle Rotimi- Akodu, while speaking with newsmen after an extensive assessment tour to check the level of work on the Ikorodu drainage infrastructure construction, said that when the infrastructure construction is completed, it would address the perennial flooding issues in Ikorodu as a whole.
He said that the intensity of the rainfall experienced in the state on Monday and Tuesday was the type that does not occur regularly but could only be experienced once in decades.
According to him, “what happened here is from nature, the effects of climate change are real, and that is why we are all out to ensure the optimal functioning of our resilient infrastructures to tackle these challenges.
“We are here to convey the governor’s message of sympathy to the people affected through dislocation, as well as the damaged property and what the people lost.
“We are here to also assess the level of damage and to check how far the ongoing drainage project has gone and what we can quickly put in place to mitigate the pains and alleviate the problems,” Akodu emphasised.
He said that the inspection team, which also included officials from the Ministry of Special Duties, came to ensure an assessment of all humanitarian needs and see what the ministry would do to help the residents of Ijede and environs.
He said that the government would ensure that the contractor handling the drainage project hasten work to address the immediate challenges in the areas affected while also sticking to the timeliness for the completion of the project, reminding residents that the majority of the areas affected are flood plain areas.
The Special Adviser also advised residents to always display a positive attitude towards the environment, especially waste disposal, by ensuring that their wastes do not end up in drains, roads, median, road setbacks, and open spaces.
“We must also ensure that we avoid encroachment on road infrastructure, especially Right of Way. We should be reminded that what goes around comes around. If problems arise from negative human elements, it is going to affect everybody.”
A member of the State House of Assembly representing Ikorodu II Constituency, who also joined the inspection team, Abiodun Moshood, expressed delight that the team visited Ikorodu to assess the situation, urging a speeding up of work on the ongoing drainage/infrastructure construction in the corridor.
He said that contrary to the opinion of some residents, the ongoing drainage project had not been abandoned; it has a 12-month completion period and was flagged off about six months ago with another six months before its completion.
He expressed conviction that after the completion of the projects in a few months, it would permanently provide a lasting solution to flash flooding the residents of Ijede experienced in the last 48 hours, saying the projects are in two phases.
Also, the Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Gbenga Oyerinde, said he joined the inspection to the affected areas to carry out a preliminary assessment of what really happened and also gather the right information and statistics to enable the government to take appropriate humanitarian decisions
Places visited include the ongoing construction of the Outfall Channel for the ongoing Gberigbe Road Project (One Fold) Outfall, which cuts across One Fold Community, Okeletu Road, Unity Estate, Gbopa Community, Abule-Eko Community, all in Ijede, as well as ongoing construction of Palm Avenue Collector Drain at Oke-Eletu, Ijede and Igbogbo.
