Lagos demolishes houses on drainage channels - Sacks 52 KAI workers for extortion

By Our Reporter - 28.02.2008

LAGOS State government on Wednesday made good its threat to remove buildings obstructing drainage channels with the demolition of about eight structures blocking the dredging of Gbagada canal.

Accompanied by armed mobile policemen, officials of the Drainage Department in the Ministry of Environment stormed Adeola Raji Street, Gbagada, Lagos, where almost all the buildings on one side of the street were said to be obstructing a major drainage channel.

The affected buildings included that of local government council boss in the state, and two schools, among others.

Speaking with newsmen in his office after the exercise, the Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire, said the state government was determined to reclaim 15 metres within the perimeter of drainage channels in the state to avoid flooding especially with the coming of the rainy season.

While explaining that about N5 billion had been earmarked for drainage this year, Dr. Banire stated that “those whose houses or fences are blocking our drainage paths will have to pay for the demolition works we are doing presently if they don’t remove them before we get to their area because we have been warning them for the past three months.”

He said that from Gbagada, the demolition team would be moving towards Agege, Alimosho, Victoria Island, among others, in a couple days, adding that already, royal fathers in the affected areas had been expressing support for government’s efforts to deflood their communities.

Banire said the Gbagada drainage channel was one out of the five newly awarded canal dredging projects. Others include Macgregor canal in Obalende, Baale Okoya channel, Ososa channel in Bariga and Oko-Oba channel in Agege.

Also, the Lagos State government on Wednesday said it sacked 52 workers of its agency, Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) for extortion and other misdemeanours.

KAI is the state government's anti- indiscipline outfit. It was set up by the immediate past administration of Bola Tinubu.

KAI Marshal-General, Captain Danjuma Maigeri (rtd), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the workers were sacked recently.

Maigeri stressed that the government would not tolerate corruption, expressing the hope that the sack of the workers would serve as a deterrence to others.

"The government was paying them good salaries. It also provided other favourable conditions of service; so, tell me why they should not perform creditably,'' Maigeri said.

The marshal-general said KAI had a workforce of some 600 personnel at present, noting that it was inadequate for the commercial city.

"I am having below 600 workers for the whole of Lagos State. This is inadequate to cover the entire state. l need more than 4,500 personnel to cover Lagos properly,'' he said.