News
Lagos Flooding: FG Begins Drainage Clearing On Federal Roads
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has ordered the desilting of drainages along federal roads in Lagos State with a view to deflooding the highways.
The Federal Controller of Works, Lagos State, Olukorede Kesha, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists on Thursday.
The directive came after business and commercial activities were grounded on Wednesday following a 10-hour downpour in many parts of Lagos and Ogun states.
The resulting flooding brought down a two-storey building in the Mushin area of Lagos, grounded vehicular movement on the roads, and overwhelmed thousands of residents while pupils could not attend schools in parts of the states.
Some affected flooded areas such as Iyana-Oworo, Agege, Ijegun-Isheri Osun, Gbagada and Lagos Island in Lagos State, observed that roads and houses were flooded as a result of long hours of downpour.
Other flooded places in Lagos include Eredo, Bojije, Epe, Sangotedo, Ibeju-Lekki, Awoyaya, Labora, and Abijon.
But the Federal Controller of Works, Kesha, said Lagos State was not experiencing widespread submergence from floodwaters.
She, however, admitted that “localised flooding” affected certain sections of federal roads within the city, hence the need to clear the drainages.
She said, “We wish to clarify that contrary to some reports, Lagos is not experiencing widespread submergence from floodwaters.
“However, the ministry acknowledges that localised flooding has affected certain sections of federal roads within the city.
“The minister has directed the desilting of drains along federal roads in the state with a view to deflooding the highways .
“Our teams are currently deployed to assess the situation while the desilting of drains along the affected roads are currently being carried out.
“The ministry understands the inconvenience caused by these flash floods and is committed to eliminating the disruptions caused thereafter.
According to him, such financial mishandling not only disrupts critical public services and projects but also results in major losses to the nation’s purse—resources that could have been channelled into crucial services and developmental efforts, as laid out in Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution.
Speaker Abbas, thereafter setup a Special Committee to be chaired by Rep. Chinedu Martins to immediately launch a probe into the “Utilisation of take-off grants, bailout funds, and interventions allocated to MDAs, government institutions, and GOEs from 2015 to present.”
The FCT Minister, Mr. Nyesom Wike, expressed satisfaction with the progress on the Abuja light rail project, reaffirming its May 29 delivery as sacrosanct.
He made these assurances after inspecting the ongoing construction of access roads to the train stations on Wednesday, from Metro Train Station in the Central Area to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Reassuring journalists accompanying him, the minister reiterated that President Bola Tinubu would commission the rail project on May 29 to mark his second year in office.
The visited stations were Wupa station near Idu and Bassanjiwa station near the airport.
“This is part of our routine inspection of ongoing projects to see the contractors’ progress,” Wike explained.
“We are working day and night to fulfill our promise to President Tinubu and FCT residents. By May, Mr. President will ride on the Metro line.”
Gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen are currently invading some communities in the Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State.
According to sources, the herdsmen armed with AK-47 rifles stormed the community around 04:15pm on Thursday.
“Our lives are in danger this evening, armed Fulani herdsmen, about 600 in numbers have taken over our communities this evening,” a resident told SaharaReporters.
“They’re currently moving around towns in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue state. No security personnel at all, Governor Alia didn’t send security, they said operation will start soon once they (herders) have observed the place.”
The insecurity situation in Benue has been alarming in recent weeks with attacks from gunmen suspected to be herdsmen.
The media had reported that suspected herdsmen again unleashed terror in Benue State, attacking three communities in Otukpo Local Government Area (LGA) on Wednesday, just a day after 11 people were killed in a deadly raid on Otobi community.
The latest victims of the escalating violence were Emichi, Odudaje, and Okpamaju, communities that had previously suffered an attack in February, which left five people dead.
However, the renewed attack has created fear and mass displacement among residents, with women and children fleeing to safety.
Local sources say the death toll from the fresh attack remains unclear, but several casualties are feared.
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