Lagos Assembly appeals to President Buhari on protection of shorelines

The Lagos State House of Assembly has appealed to President Muhammad Buhari to intervene on the protection of shorelines of Eti-Osa, Lagos Island, Ibeju Lekki, Badagry and others in the state.

The House made the appealed sequel to a motion raised by the prime mover, Hon. Noheem Adams, representing Eti-Osa Constituency 1, during plenary session in Lagos on Tuesday.

The National Daily reports that ocean surge had displaced lots of lives in the coastal areas of the state, especially during the rainy season.

The lawmakers also urged the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to release the ecological fund meant for the state, and on Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to direct the relevant ministry to come up with modalities to address the shoreline issues, adding that a state of emergency should be declared on the communities.

Adams disclosed that Lagos was excluded from the ecological fund, while states such as Abia, Imo, Adamawa, Jigawa, Niger, the FCT and others benefited from it.

“These communities have been displaced due to ocean surge. Our communities are calling on the necessary bodies to save our souls. We need an emergency to be declared in those areas.

“Ecological fund was established and 1 per cent of it was set aside to take care of these ecological issues but Lagos State was excluded from the fund.

The Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade, said that the House Committee on Waterfront should evaluate dredging activities in the state and think of how to be involved in championing this cause.

Agunbiade explained that there was poor disposal of solid waste in the state; hence, the public should be sensitised on its unavoidable effect.

“The committee on waterfront needs to do a lot by calling for the evaluation of dredging activities in the state.

“The waterfront committee should sit back and think of how to be involved in championing this cause.

“There should be a resolve on how to address improper disposal of solid waste in the state. We are also calling on members of the public to dispose their waste according to the law,” he said.

Commenting, Hon. Tobun Abiodun, representing Epe Constituency 1, said that investigations should be made into how the money previously allocated for the protection of shoreline in the state was utilized.

Abiodun said this was necessary so that the problem could be thoroughly addressed.

“We need to investigate the money previously allocated for shoreline protection across the states.

“We need to naturally investigate what is going on so that we can put the problem to rest,” he said.

Also, Hon. Rotimi Olowo, representing Shomolu Constituency 1, suggested the need for the communities to be catered for to prevent them from going into extinction.

Olowo noted that the federal government could not be blamed if no application had been made, and called on the governor to do the needful by applying for the fund as the state could not do it alone.

Reacting, Hon. Mojeed Fatai, representing Ibeju-Lekki 1, attributed the ocean surge issue to the mismanagement of drainages, adding that a task force should be set up to look into it.

Fatai noted that the local governments have the right to request for the fund in addendum to what the state can do.

The Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, asked the Acting Clerk of the House, Mr Olalekan Onafeko, to forward the suggestions made by the House to the president, vice president and the governor so that appropriate actions could be taken.