In furtherance of the quest for a sustainable environment, the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, in company with his Transportation counterpart, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, on Sunday, gave a four-day relocation notice to all squatters under the Obalende Bridge, as well as the illegal motor parks operators and buses, who have moved to the main road.
Both commissioners who were with the Special Adviser on Environment, Kunle Rotimi-Akodu, and Transportation, Sola Giwa, Chairman of Special Task Force on Restoration of Blue Line Corridor, ACP Bayo Sulaiman, and Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services, Mahmood Adegbite, and other heads of agencies, inspected the Apongbon Under-bridge, Obalende, Ijora Under-bridge and Surulere opposite the national stadium.
Speaking with newsmen after the inspection, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Wahab, said all shanties and their dwellers, traders, squatters, cattle rearers and abandoned vehicles presently under the Obalende Bridge, must vacate the area by Thursday afternoon, as enforcement would commence in the early hours of Friday morning.
He added that all the commercial vehicle operators, who have turned the main roads in Obalende into parking lots, should relocate to the various parks provided for them because the government has had enough of the defacement of the aesthetics of Obalende by the operators and it must be restored.
Wahab, who was flanked by his counterparts in the Executive Council, said there is no going back on the marching order to the squatters and motorists in Obalende, which informed the presence of the helmsmen from the transportation sector.
The commissioner, who also inspected the level of work on the clean up of Apongbon Under-bridge, also visited Ebute-Ero and other areas, asking state officials monitoring the areas to ensure full compliance with Mr Governor’s directive, that there should be no form of trading or habitation under the bridge and all the adjoining areas.
“I would like to state that I am happy with the level of compliance at Ijora, Apongbon and Ebute Ero under the bridge, where the cleanup exercise commenced two weeks ago. The government is set to sustain the clean and safe environment, and in a matter of months, the space will be taken over by the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK),” he stated.
He said LASPARK would move in after the squatters have been removed to commence work on the beautification and landscaping of Obalende Under-bridge, Apongbon Under-bridge, and Ebute Ero Under-bridge, stressing that the clean up exercise would spread to everywhere bridges exist across the state.
“Most of the places cleaned up are notorious sites that harbour criminals, thereby becoming threats to the Blue Rail Line Project bridges that pass through Ijora, and one that the state government has invested huge resources in,” he said.
Earlier at the Ilubirin end of Lagos Island, the Commissioner said Ilubirin is strategic because the government is set to regenerate Isale Eko, and to do that, there is need to get the outflow of water through Ilubirin path.
He recalled that the governor was at Isale Eko late last year with the promise of regeneration, adding that the contractor needs to speed up the pace of work to ensure that the project is completed before the rain commences.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Osiyemi while speaking, said the Ministry of Transportation’s collaboration with the Environment and Water Resources has been beneficial to the state government in delivering its mandate.
He stated that a park existed at Obalende for the use of motor park operators, but had been taken over by shanties and squatters, adding that immediately the cleanup is effected, the park operators would be compelled to take over the parks and move away from the roads.
Special Adviser on Environment, Mr. Rotimi-Akodu said the objective of the exercise was clear, saying the government means well for the people of Lagos, and as such, the beauty of the state will definitely be restored.
“The cleanup of exercise is necessary because illegal occupiers threaten security, and hinder economic survival in the state. The yearnings of the people is what the government is out to achieve,” he said
He urged all the citizens to ensure that they cooperate with the state government in its bid to sustain a cleaner and healthier Lagos.