The Lagos State Task force has disclosed that government will carry out proper environmental monitoring and cleansing of shanties just as it did the previous year, when shanties at railway line, Ijora, White Sand, Breweries and shanties at Iwaya in Yaba axis were all cleared.
Chairman of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit, Shola Jejeloye stated this during s clearing exercise of shanties along Lekki-Marwa Coastal road, Sapphire Tower and Blue Water Area of Lekki -Epe Expressway on Thursday.
According to him, government had served illegal occupants notices in previous years and also carried out a demolition exercise at the same location to allow for free flow of traffic, beautification exercise of the state.
“It is unthinkable to see people residing or sleeping in a place that is not fit for animals. We will make the state uninhabitable for all the serial law breakers and criminals.
“We have been here severally to demolish these illegal structures impeding free flow of traffic and construction of alternate road. The area is becoming a breeding ground for miscreants and hoodlums who engage in traffic robbery along this route and we will make sure we flush them out completely.
“These shanties were built haphazardly without any form of environmental provision for waste disposal or drainage channels. That is the reason most of these areas are flooded and overwhelmed whenever it rains. We will not condone it any longer.
“Wetlands, which are very common attributes of a Coastal State like Lagos, if not properly managed, could worsen the flooding usually experienced during rainy season. We have to make sure illegal occupants do not encroach them. That is the reason we partnered with other MDAs to reclaim wetlands like Odo-Iyalaro,” he explained.
