Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party's 2023 governorship candidate in Lagos, has criticized the state government's efforts to tackle the perennial flooding issue as "pedestrian".
His remarks come after heavy rains on July 3, 2024, led to widespread flooding, submerging cars and houses, and stranding millions of commuters and workers across the state.
Rhodes-Vivour's comments highlight the ongoing challenges Lagos faces in managing the impact of heavy rainfall. The state government has called for calm from residents and stated that it would construct additional drainage infrastructure to address the problem.
However, some residents have expressed frustration with the perennial flooding, citing issues such as blocked drains, improper waste disposal, and the construction of buildings on drainage right-of-ways. They have called on the state and local governments to take more decisive action to clear drains, enforce regulations, and complete ongoing road repairs.
“The solutions that we have seen with this state government in the last 24 years have been very pedestrian,” Rhodes-Vivour said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
“You have your gutters, don’t dump waste in your gutters but what is your waste management policy? How have you brought it down to your local government? How have you created incentives for people to manage their waste because it can be converted to wealth?
“How have you covered your gutters? How have you localised your canal management systems? How have you gotten your CDAs and local governments involved? We have a situation whereby local governments are just extensions of political parties. They don’t have a scheme in the game.”
The LP flagbearer appeared on the show alongside the Lagos State Commissioner of Environment and Water Resources Tokunbo Wahab.
While giving an update about the floods, Wahab apologised to residents and commuters.
He said the floods were not due to the government’s lack of planning.
“I will start by saying to Lagosians, ‘We are sorry for the inconvenience caused due to nature’s cause yesterday morning’,” the commissioner said.
“It’s not for failure to plan that we had what happened yesterday. No, it was nature taking its full course. And we are sorry for those whose lives were disrupted: they could not go to work, they could not go to their marketplaces, they couldn’t go to school.”
Motorists were in gridlock and commuters were stranded as the torrential rains which lasted for hours grounded economic activities in the state.
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