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Residents, landlords, and business owners in the vicinity of the Ilo-Awela Canal, Ajegunle-Toll Gate Sango area, which borders the states of Lagos and Ogun, have expressed outrage over the area’s persistent flooding, which has resulted in fatalities and destruction of buildings.
As a result of the location being the border between Lagos and Ogun States, some residents of the communities in Ilo-Ajegunle that were affected by the canal’s recurring flooding claimed to have been abandoned by both governments.
Taofeek Opara, the chairman of the Ilo-Awela Ajegunle Market on the toll gate side of the canal said, whenever the rainy season is on the horizon, landlords, citizens, and businesspeople along the canal route start to worry for their safety.
Additionally, he said that Olatunji Omiyale, a butcher, had lost a son to a flood in 2022.
Opara said “This region of ours (Ilo-Awela, Ajegunle, and Toll Gate) has turned into a sort of death trap for locals and business owners.
“In September of 2022, an apprentice butcher named Matthew Omiyale was lost in a flood. In this market, his father Olatunji works as a butcher as well.
“Children in this area don’t even go to school when it rains because of the risk of drowning. Regarding this, we’ve sent letters to the Ogun and Lagos State governments.”
Yinka Folarin, the chairman of the Community Development Association of Ajegunle-Ilo, claimed that traders who dump their waste into the canal and some residents’ insensitivity were to blame for the flooding in the area.
He pleaded with the governments of Lagos and Ogun States to assist the locals because the flood had caused incalculable harm to both people and property.
Olatunji, the man whose son, Matthew, drowned in the flood of 2022, pleaded with the two state governments to assist the communities.
Adebayo Lawal, the chairman of Ajegunle-Ilo Central, also revealed that last week, a delegation from the Lagos State Government visited to assess the situation with the canal and that they had been assured by government representatives that construction on the canal would soon begin.
Waheed Odusile, the commissioner for information in Ogun State, responded to inquiries by saying, “The governor has made it clear that anything related to infrastructure is at the top of his list in this second term.
“The state’s government is prepared to take any measure to make life easier for its citizens.
“The top issues on his list are rural roads, electrification, and other problems like this canal. The Ogun State Government considers this to be a top priority.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, Tunji Bello, is yet to comment on the plaguing situation.
Source: TheStreetJournal | Read More
