Demolition: Residents of Mende were served notices – Lagos Commissioner for Environment. Tokunbo Wahab, says

Tokunboh Wahab, the Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, has clarified that owners of the demolished properties impeding drainage flow in Mende, Maryland area, were served with “necessary notices” prior to the removal of their buildings from the System 1 Drainage Right of Way over the past weekend.

Speaking on Channels TV on Sunday, May 5, Wahab mentioned that property owners had been informed as early as 2021. Although during the demolition, the property owners claimed they were given only two hours notice before the government demolished their buildings, the commissioner asserted that the drainage right of way had been designated since 1974, and residents were duly engaged before the demolitions commenced. Upon assuming office last year, Wahab’s administration communicated with the residents regarding the buildings situated on the Systems 1 Right of Way, known as Odo Iya Alaro Right of Way.

Wahab emphasized that the owners of the affected buildings were personally served with notices, and their properties were subsequently marked. “We didn’t just go there, we also engaged them,” the commissioner emphasized, citing that state environmental laws permit the removal of structures deemed as hindrances to drainage channels.

He highlighted the significance of the Odo Iya Alaro Drainage Channel in managing erosion flow within the state.

Wahab acknowledged that certain decisions are challenging, yet essential for effective governance. However, he remained silent on the issue of potential compensation for owners of the demolished buildings.

He said; “They claimed they were not served notices, they were served. They had come for meetings severally. The residents’ association had met with the Permanent Secretary, Engr Mahmood Adekunle Adegbite severally in my office. So, on what basis were they having meetings if they were not served?

The first notices were served on them in 2021. Each of the property owners on Systems 1 was duly written that they should remove their encumbrances because they were sitting on Systems 1. That led to engagements with my predecessor in office, Mr Tunji Bello.”