The Lagos State Government has issued a fresh warning to residents in parts of Lekki, Ikorodu and Ajegunle areas of the state to relocate from lowlands to highlands to avoid being victims of flooding.
“Those around the Ajilete axis of Lagos, that’s Ajegunle, they have to move. Those around the coastline of Ikorodu; Majidu, have to move. Some areas around the Lekki corridor, too, not all,” Tokunbo Wahab said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday.
“Epe had always been safe, Mushin will be safe, Ikeja will be safe,” the environment commissioner stated, warning residents of Isheri in the OPIC area of the state to also be on alert.
Wahab said Lagos, as a coastal city, is exposed to the vagaries of climate change and will experience flash flooding this year.
The official said, based on predictions by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Lagos would experience much more rain this year than last year.
“For those who stay in the lowland of Lagos, they have to move to the upland pending when the rain recedes,” he said.
Some communities in Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial capital, were flooded on Monday after marathon rainfall that started Sunday night and thundered on, uninterrupted till Monday evening.
Viral videos showed submerged houses and vehicles in parts of the state as residents delicately navigated pool-like streets and roads, which overflowed from clogged drainage channels and canals. The environmental situation paralysed trade and economic activities in the nation’s commercial hub.
However, Wahab sued for calm, and assured residents of the state that the government has been on top of the matter, clearing drainage channels and expanding flood paths to mitigate the impact of nature.
“We won’t tell Lagosians lies. Lagos will be exposed to the vagaries of climate change, and that means Lagos will have flash flooding, but as a state, we have to provide resilient infrastructure, and we have to tell our people to be responsible.
“If nature takes its course, what we can do is to mitigate its impact,” the commissioner stated.
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