The Lagos State Government has given a seven-day ultimatum to house owners on Shoreline Estate, Onikoyi Estate, Park View and Banana Island in the Ikoyi area of the state to remove their fences encroaching on drainage channels.

The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, during an inspection of the area at the weekend, noted that many buildings in the area failed to leave the standard 3-metre distance to the drainage channel.

He, however, said instead of 3 metres, the government would be magnanimous and demand only 2.5-metre space, adding that any building that fell short would be removed.

He urged owners of such buildings to voluntarily remove such encroaching fences before the expiration of the ultimatum, warning that “if they fail to do so and allow the government to use taxpayers funds to enforce, property owners would be surcharged for the expenses incurred.”

A statement on Sunday by the Director of Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Environment, Kunle Adeshina, quoted the commissioner as saying that “On investigation, we found out that the first property situated along Onikoyi/ Banana Island collector situated inside Onikoyi Estate left 2.5 metres for the drainage setback and for us to have a balanced situation we will magnanimously adopt 2.5 metres which is smaller than the 3 metres required by law.”

The statement further quoted Wahab as saying that “property owners and residents along the aforementioned collector drain would be given the next seven days to move their fences on both sides of the channel while observing the 2.5-metre drainage setback. Enforcement will commence immediately after expiration of the mandatory notice.” (The PUNCH)

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