The Lagos State Government (LASG) says it will continue with the single-use plastics ban enforcement to improve the state’s infrastructure and protect the environment.
The Commissioner For Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, said this on Sunday while speaking with journalists after an inspection tour of the projects at Odo Iyalaro System 1 and other parts of Lagos State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the visits were conducted to assess the progress of the ongoing projects, particularly the Odo-Iyalaro System 1 project behind Sheraton Hotel in Lagos. Investment opportunities
Wahab said the response had been positive, with consistent advocacy and engagement efforts over 18 months contributing to its success.
“The response has been good because we have done the advocacy for 18 months, and the engagement has been very consistent. We are also ramping up our advocacy on the radio and television,” he said.
Speaking on the inspection tour, he said the state government embarked on the tour to assess the ongoing projects in the vicinity.
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“It has been raining for the past few days, and then the feedback we are getting is very heartwarming, but that is not enough for us to now fold our hands. So, what we did this morning was to go do on the spot assessment for our projects. Like four months ago, we went to Odo-Iyalaro System 1 behind Sheraton, one of the outlets for it. Nothing was done then. They had not even started, we just awarded it, and I am glad when we got there today, they have done like 45 to 46 per cent of the job. They have done the tripasoda 25 meters that will discharge into the downstream, passing through under the new bridge,” he said.
He added that the other project awarded around Ogudu would commence installation soonest.
“We came to the other leg of it, around Ogudu, to see what they are doing. I think that’s a very critical part of the project we awarded, and you saw the sheet piles they are making to start installation. We have enough logistics to discuss with them this week, so they can start their installation,” he said.
Wahab who disclosed that they got a hint that some people were building on the Right of Way (ROA), said they would be served notices to desist from doing so.
“We came to this Adisa channel here in Alapere. We got a whistle blower information that it has been encroached on, that people are trying to build on the alignment and the ROA. So, we’re just going to see it for ourselves and then serve them notices, and let them just please not encroach on the ROA for this critical channel discharging its own neighbourhood. We also noticed that some places are already making a makeshift dust bin around their houses, so we will serve the houses so they can desist from doing that. We don’t want to wake up and realise there is a dump site around the place,” he said.
When asked the duration of these projects, Wahab said it would be for 24 months, appealing to residents to stop encroaching on the ROA.(NAN)