Sanwo-Olu, Umahi reject claims linking Lagos-Calabar coastal highway to flooding

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the Minister of Works, David Umahi, have dismissed claims that the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project is responsible for recent flooding in parts of Lagos, describing the allegations as misleading.

The two officials spoke on Monday during a courtesy visit by the Minister of Works and members of the National Assembly to the Lagos State Government House.

Umahi disclosed that President Bola Tinubu directed an on-site assessment of the highway project following widespread social media claims alleging that the construction had triggered flooding in the state.

The visit came after days of heavy rainfall submerged roads, homes and vehicles in several parts of Lagos, prompting some residents to blame the flooding on the ongoing coastal highway construction.

Rejecting the claims, Umahi said the flooding was not unique to Lagos, noting that similar incidents had been recorded across the country and that weather agencies had earlier forecast flooding in at least 22 states.

“We were concerned about the negative narrative on social media claiming that the coastal highway caused flooding in Lagos. The President directed us to come with members of the National Assembly to assess the situation ourselves,” the minister said.

READ ALSO: Lagos floods submerge homes, disrupt power supply as residents call for urgent drainage reforms

He explained that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway was deliberately designed at an elevated level to withstand tidal surges and protect the corridor from flooding for the next two to three decades.

According to him, many of the affected communities were originally swampy areas before the commencement of construction, adding that buildings erected below approved flood levels would remain susceptible to flooding regardless of the highway project.

Umahi also commended the Lagos State Government’s drainage master plan, stating that more than 80 per cent of drainage channels leading into lagoons had already been completed.

He disclosed that the Federal Government and Lagos State would collaborate on the construction of additional drainage infrastructure and service lanes along the coastal highway corridor, noting that some structures would have to be removed to accommodate the projects.

The minister added that consultations would be held with affected residents, while modern infrastructure, including surveillance cameras, wind monitoring stations, parking facilities and tourism amenities, would be developed along the route.

Speaking during the visit, Sanwo-Olu said flooding remains a natural environmental challenge because of Lagos’ geographical location as a coastal city.

He noted that Lagos occupies less than 0.4 per cent of Nigeria’s landmass, with about one-third of its total area covered by water, making seasonal flooding inevitable, especially during periods of intense rainfall.

According to the governor, heavy downpours can temporarily overwhelm drainage systems, although floodwaters often recede shortly afterwards.

“Lagos is a coastal city. When people say Lagos has flooded, without mincing words, we will always experience some level of flooding. We only pray that it will not be severe,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu also accused some social media users of circulating photographs taken at the height of flooding to create a misleading impression of the overall situation in the state.

He blamed indiscriminate waste disposal for exacerbating flooding, saying blocked drainage channels remain one of the leading causes of urban flooding in Lagos.

The governor said the state government would continue enforcing environmental sanitation measures, including its ban on styrofoam, while introducing additional initiatives to protect drainage infrastructure.

“We cannot allow social media to define who we are. That does not mean we ignore our challenges. Whenever there are problems, we must confront them and solve them, but we must also understand the realities of our environment,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu further disclosed that the state had commenced a cleanup of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway and signed an agreement with a mechanised street-cleaning company to deploy six-lane sweeping machines for the daily maintenance of the coastal highway corridor.