Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Tuesday said the state government would do everything possible to bring environmental sanity back to every part of the state.
The governor spoke while inaugurating the Special Committee on Clean-Up of Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Lekki areas of the state.
He said that gross abuse of urban planning and environmental laws in the state had necessitated the action to clean up the environment and restore it to its desired form.
“Cases of abandoned properties have become very rampant with miscreants and criminal elements taking over these properties as their base to cause havoc.
“The neat road sides of the past now parade pockets of kiosks, illegal parking lots, unapproved mechanic workshops, roadside beer parlours and commercial centres.
“In addition, originally residential areas now have industrial and commercial concerns located there, distorting the balance of the environment,” Ambode said.
He said the state government could not allow the environment to be destroyed by people who had no regard for beauty, serenity, law and order.
“A safe and prosperous Lagos is non-negotiable; that is the commitment of our administration. We will not allow these environmental infractions to continue,’’ the governor said.
According to the governor, bad environmental practices thriving in prime areas, such as Victoria Island, Ikoyi and the Lekki axis, can no longer be tolerated and will be brought to an end immediately.
The governor said that such areas, designed to be highbrow, had been taken over by shanties.
He said that the clean-up was not a one-off exercise adding that the one taking place in the high brow area was the pilot scheme.
“This rescue operation has come to stay until we achieve the Lagos of our dreams,’’ he said.
The governor charged the committee, chaired by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tunji Bello, to immediately commence the implementation of the approved action plan and execution of the clean-up exercise.
He said the committee should develop strategies for preventing recurrence as well as other recommendations as necessary to sustain environmental renewal of the areas.
Bello, in his response, pledged that all members of the committee would carry out their tasks diligently.
The Sole Administrators of Iru/Victoria Island and Ikoyi Obalende Local Council Development Areas, Officer in Charge of the Task Force on Environmental Offences Unit, VIIRA – the residents association in the area, among others, are part of the committee.(NAN)