Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have urged the residents of the state to stop blocking drainage channels following predictions of imminent heavy rainfalls.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, the lawmakers said that weather forecast had shown that there would be high levels of rainfall during the year.

They appealed to the residents to prevent avoidable human and material losses during the period.

Mr Segun Olulade (APC-Epe 2) said: "This is a rainy season and I want to encourage every Lagos resident to ensure that they clear their drainage channels.

"They should give their wastes to prescribed waste collectors in their areas to curb flooding.

"The cart pushers might not do us any good. They keep dumping wastes in the canal and at the end of the day, those canals get blocked."

Olulade urged the residents to join hands with the government to prevent unforeseen losses as a result of predicted rain.

"Besides clearing the drains to ensure a free flow of water, those who are building houses to block the drains should be condemned and exposed,’’ he said.

On his part, Mr 'Bisi Yusuff (APC-Alimosho 1) advised the residents of flood-prone areas to be on guard.

"I have released several memos on this year's rain and I have appealed to them (residents of Alimosho) that this year’s rain would be much.

"We thank God and the state government. Aboru, Ekoro, Command and the rest of it have been channelled or else we would have been carrying many dead bodies in the area now.

"When people generate wastes, they should not throw them into the canal, so they must be very careful," Yusuff said.

Meanwhile, the lawmaker appealed to the state government to declare a day as "Illegal Refuse Dumping Free Day" to create consciousness of sanity in the people.

"I am proposing that if the Lagos government can just set aside one day of not dropping refuse on unauthorised places, we would see the difference.

"There is morality in that, in those days there were designated areas where you could not dump refuse.

"Wole wole' (sanitary inspectors) would apprehend you and make you do public works if you breached the law.

"If they were coming, you would see the way the people would be afraid, we should go back to that," he said.

Yusuff said that the money being expended on refuse clearing could be used to build classrooms and construct more roads.

Also speaking, Mr Abiodun Tobun (APC-Epe 1) urged Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode to expand the inland waters to curb incessant flooding and encourage water transportation.

``We encourage our people not to drop waste in water channels.

"The Lagos State Government has been helpful by constructing canals to ensure that erosion will not affect residents. The government needs to do more to clear the swamps," Tobun said.

He urged road users to drive carefully during the rainy season, stressing that the road could be slippery.

The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency recently warned that 12 states might experience floods during the year.

The agency in its 2015 Annual Flood Outlook listed the states as Niger, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Anambra, Taraba, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Sokoto, Adamawa, Kogi and Benue. (NAN)

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