Lagos State has assured residents of Illubirin, Idumagbo and environs on Lagos Island that it will curtail flooding in the areas.
Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources Tunji Bello said the low lying nature of the area and the rising sea level keeps the areas flooded, but that the government would pump water from depressed areas to help the situation.
Bello addressed protesters at Illubirin. He was represented by Director of Drainage Enforcement and Compliance, Mahmoud Adegbite.
He said: “This will involve provision of three bigger pumps of 3000m cube per minutes M3, as well as a reconstruction of the drainage outlet. Each of those pumps will need 400KVA capacity generator to power them.”
The protesters requested that the natural embankment used to prevent the ingress of water from the lagoon be demolished, but the commissioner said the embarkment prevents water from coming in from the lagoon. He also invited five of their representatives to the office at Alausa for further explanation.
Bello added that the flooding experience was part of climate change.
The commissioner assured the people that government gets daily report on Illubirin, adding that a solution to the flooding has been found.
According to him, Lagos is part of the sinking cities, saying Lagos Island is a low lying area, which explains the convergence of water.
The commissioner added that as a follow-up to the meeting with their representatives, government officials will visit Ilubirin on Saturday with residents for another first-hand experience of the water level.
Spokesperson for the protesters, Mr. Mukadass Maja, had said their demand for a solution is to pull down the embankment, which prevents the ingress of water from the lagoon, to allow free flow of water.
He said many streets, shops, mosques, churches, police stations and schools were flooded with devastating effects on the economy of the areas.
Some of the affected areas include Ojo-Giwa, Jankara, Idu Garan, Okoya, among others.