The LASG Thursday issued an extended vacation notice to remove valuables to all residents and owners of structures on the Ikota River setback as the state commenced the poking of fences on the setback.
The additional notice was sequel to passionate pleas from some of the residents followed the expiration of all served mandatory contravention notices served on the properties to restore the drainage right of way along the Ikota River.
Speaking with newsmen after an inspection tour to the affected areas cutting across Oral, Westend and Parts of Megamound Estates in Lekki, HC MOE&WR, Tokunbo Wahab said the removal of all contravening structures would soon commence in order to find a lasting solution to flooding issues in the axis.
He said Govt had received several complaints and whilst it was engaging the property owners to find a win-win solution with reduced economic impact on home owners, some developers have gone ahead to further sandfill and push back the Ikota river.
He added that LASG had a digital footprint of the length and breath of the river, stressing that the tour was to ascertain the extent of encroachment of the ROW and what the team experienced was not encouraging.
Wahab said “We have decided to give some more time to homeowners to relocate their families and their valuables, hence the shift in the date for commencement of the restoration process”.
Said he: “We will allow them mto ove their things out; family men and women with children reside here; So whilst that is ongoing, we poked the walls as signal of our readiness to restore the Right of Way”.
At Oral Estate, Wahab noted that the level of encroachment witnessed cannot be compared to what was on ground last year when the state officials visited, stating that while some residents were engaging government to find lasting solution to rechannel some of the primary alignments and secondary collectors, some developers have went ahead to push back the right of way for the Ikota River.
“At Lekki County here, what some developers are doing is reclamation and government needs to put them in check; If you are doing a reclamation, the first thing you have to obtain is Environmental Impacts Assessment (EIA) and Drainage Clearance documents and most of them do not have it” he said
He stated that the EIA process would ensure that the reclamation does not extend beyond the drainage alignment and the discharge of storm water does not affect the ecosystem before the EIA document will be issued.
He directed that the reclaimation on going at Lekki County should stop because those doing it have sandfilled and pushed beyond the limits into the right of way.
The Commissioner noted that in Oral Estate, about 18 Units were affected, 13 in Lekki County and 8 units in Westend Estate adding that only those lying within the River Ikota will be removed.
“But what we also seek to do is engage homeonners properly because developers are selling and giving titles to innocent buyers of value, that’s why I say let those people that are innocent, that have their children in schools shouldn’t get their lives disrupted because you want to enforce”.
“Home owners affected are not disputing the fact that something is wrong, they have all admitted, but they are appealing to the government to give them time to find a way to reset ourselves”
“We will come back and see the level of compliance so the notices are not timed, but we are telling them, just they must find a way to move their things”
