Ambode: flooding caused by torrential rainfalls in Lagos

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday said the flooding caused by torrential rainfalls in the State within the last few days would soon be a thing of the past, as the State Government was working towards embarking on holistic solutions to address the situation once and for all.

Speaking at a sensitization workshop on water management and environmental control held at Ikeja which is a prelude to a Water Technology and Environmental Control (WATEC) exhibition holding in Israel later in the year, the Governor said aside the fact that the issue of flooding was not peculiar to the State or Nigeria as it was a global phenomenon, but that urgent steps are being taken to tackle the challenge in a holistic manner and protect the State from future re-occurrence.

The Governor, who empathized with people who lost properties to the flood, said that it was painful to see most prime estates flooded with water, roads taken over by floods, while many homesteads literally became pools.

Describing the workshop as apt coming at a time the State witnessed flooding in some parts, Governor Ambode said in as much as the development was a trying period for him given the fact that so much had been expended in providing infrastructure for the people, but that major strategies would be implemented with the view to bequeathing the State with enduring solution to water management and environmental control.

“However, if we have learnt anything in the on-going flooding of some parts of the State, it is that there is an immediate, even urgent need for us to embark upon a review and reengineering of our canals and drainage systems.

“This must be pursued hand-in-hand with a clear and crystal re-envisioning of our water management system. So, in effect, what we should immediately pursue is a holistic solution to what is certain to be a recurring problem. It must be a sincere collaboration between government and the citizenry,” Governor Ambode said.

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The Governor said despite the fact that the State had been denied ecological funds by the previous federal government for political reasons, several reforms were being implemented in line with the capacity of the State Government to protect the shoreline and carry out de-flooding, which according to him, are equally expensive to implement.

“The issue is when you are talking about reforms, it comes with pains but it is only the vision that drives it through and that is what we are doing,” he said.