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By Lukman Olabiyi, Lagos
The Federal Government has given occupants of spaces under its bridges in Lagos State seven days to vacate the spaces or face forceful eviction.
The verdict was as a result of a fire incident that engulfed parts of the Apongbon Market on Wednesday morning, particularly the part under the Eko Bridge.
As of press time Wednesday, firefighters were still battling to quell the fire because they could not access its source under the bridge. They thus resorted to working from the top of the bridge.
Heads of Ministries, Agencies and Parastatals (MDAs) of the Federal and Lagos State government addressed reporters on top of the bridge when they visited to assess the situation.
The Director of Highways, Bridges and Design in the Federal Ministry of Works, Oluropo Oyetade, who represented the minister, said: “All occupants under our bridges, particularly in Lagos now, have seven days, starting today, to leave. By March 31, the task force will begin to forcefully evict recalcitrant persons. Such persons would also pay to remove their goods.
‘By March 31, we will start cleaning up our bridges because if there were no illegal occupants of the space under this bridge, this fire would have been contained. The Eko Bridge has just been awarded for repairs, the contractor has not started work yet and now this has happened. Government cannot keep committing huge resources to maintain infrastructure while some unscrupulous elements will continue to draw us back by damaging them.
‘The enforcement order will also be extended to other states after now because we can’t continue to record such cases.’
Lagos State Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations Tayo Bamgbose-Martins described the disaster as cutting across many sectors. He reiterated that the bridge was a federal one, but the state maintains it and would partner it on whatever must be done.
‘The fire started from under the bridge and though it’s not as serious as before, it has not been quelled because it’s been difficult for the firefighters to get under the bridge because of illegal encroachment by containers and various activities going on there. They have no access to the source.
‘We have done our best to contain the fire, and the firefighters will remain here to keep the fire under check so it doesn’t extend beyond control.’
Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Works and Infrastructure, Mrs Aramide Adeyoye, described the situation as sad.
‘It’s a sad day for us but this was clearly avoidable. We have said many times that the bridges are not places you store explosives and chemicals. People who live under the bridges don’t even know this. There are many containers here and we don’t know who is who, and this has compounded the fire because it’s difficult to contain it due to lack of accessibility. Even the water trucks cannot get close enough because everywhere is clogged. It looks like we brought this upon ourselves. We heaped this upon ourselves.’
Director of Lagos Fire and Rescue Service Margaret Adeseye promised that the agency will ensure the fire is extinguished before leaving the site. She however urged the public to take fire safety seriously.
‘We need to be fire conscious, the best fire fought is the one prevented. Let us prevent fire everywhere we find ourselves and obey rules regarding that,’ Adeseye said.
