– Seek Permanent Flood Solutions
COMMAND, LAGOS – Residents of Agbado/Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area, LCDA, have called on the council administration to extend its ongoing drainage desilting exercise to other flood-prone communities.
They also want the administration to complement the intervention with permanent solutions to recurring drainage and road infrastructure challenges.
The residents made the call while reacting to the ongoing desilting of drainage channels along the Command-Ipaja Road corridor, an exercise aimed at improving stormwater flow and reduce the risk of flooding.
A resident, Abiodun Ogunsola, commended the council for the intervention but appealed for similar attention to roads and drainage infrastructure in other parts of the LCDA.
Ogunsola specifically mentioned Akinde Junction to Pleasure Bus Stop, Irepodun, Oremeji and Aje streets as areas requiring urgent rehabilitation, stressing that improved drainage and road infrastructure would make transportation safer and easier for residents.
“This is a commendable initiative. We sincerely appreciate the administration’s efforts toward preventing flooding and improving the environment,” he said, while urging the council to extend the gesture to other areas in need.
Another resident, Balogun Saheed, welcomed the desilting exercise but cautioned that clearing the drains alone may not provide a lasting solution to the problem.
According to him, some drainage channels are in such poor condition that they require reconstruction and, where appropriate, covering, rather than periodic removal of accumulated silt.
“Desilting is good, but a permanent solution is needed,” Saheed said, calling for proper reconstruction of damaged drains, regular maintenance, improved waste management and stricter enforcement against indiscriminate dumping.
Saheed noted that the objective should be to ensure that drainage channels remain functional throughout the rainy season rather than repeatedly addressing the same problem after they become blocked.
The residents’ concerns come against the backdrop of the ongoing drainage intervention exercise by the Agbado/Oke-Odo LCDA along the Command-Ipaja Road corridor.
The council, in a statement by the Spokesman to the chairman, Femi Ojo, seen by Community Standard, said the essence of the exercise is to remove accumulated silt, refuse and other obstructions impeding the free flow of stormwater, thereby enhancing drainage capacity and reducing the risk of flooding.
The administration added that the intervention was part of its broader commitment to environmental management and the protection of residents, commuters, motorists and businesses along the busy corridor.
The council, therefore, appealed to residents to support the effort by refraining from dumping refuse into drainage channels, noting that effective drainage management requires both government intervention and responsible community participation.
While residents have welcomed the current intervention, their demands highlight the need for a broader and more sustainable approach to flood management in the Agbado Oke Odo, one that combines regular desilting with drainage reconstruction, road rehabilitation, proper waste management and sustained maintenance.
And for many residents, the success of the intervention will ultimately be measured not only by how clean the drains are today, but by whether the roads and drainage channels remain functional when the next heavy rainfall comes.
