Epidemic Looms As Govt Demolishes, Converts Sewage Recycling Plant Site To Bonded Terminal
• Estate Residents Accuse LBIC Of Selling Land To Private Company, Channel Faeces Into Gutter • It Was Not Sold, But Being Repurposed, Govt Claims
EXECPT something urgent is done, Lagos State is in the threshold of an epidemic owing to recklessness of a government agency that led to the demolition of the Central Sewage Plan meant for the Low Cost Housing Estate in Mile 2 area of Amuwo- Odofin Local Council without providing an alternative.
The Low Costing Housing Estate, Mile 2, is one of the many housing schemes executed by the late Lateefjakande when he was governor of Lagos State.
According to findings from residents, the estate has 499 blocks of flats, with each block housing six flats.
It was learnt that the central sewage recycling plant was constructed to collect and treat the wastewater from the estate before being channeled into the canal by the estate.
The residents said that the Lagos Building Investment Agency ( LBIC) took over the land housing the central sewage recycling plant for the residents of the estate with the goal of converting its use for a different purpose.
They said that initially a section of the land was taken for the construction of Ibile Gas Plant, which some of the residents kicked against that the land was not meant for a gas plant.
While this category of residents were still coming to terms about that development, the LBIC allegedly sold the other part of the land to a private company, which demolished the central sewage plant meant for the over 10,000 residents within the estate.
The President, Mile 2 Estate Landlord Association, Prince ayi lara adey emi,s aid that several engagements with the agency did not deter it from selling off the land and demolishing the estate’s central sewage recycling plant.
He said this is despite the management of LBIC was informed about the consequences of its action, especially if it fails to provide alternative central sewage recycling plant for the residents of the estate. Adeyemi said since the sewage plant has been demolished, with no alternative provided by the government, the residents have been channeling their faeces into nearby drainages around their blocks of flats.
According to him, aside from several protests against the action of government and its agency, a petition was written to the Ministry of Housing to that effect, since the ministry should be the supervisory body for the LBIC. He added that the ministry called for a meeting while the estate residents sent in representatives and showed up for the meeting, but no staff of the LBIC showed up, as a result the meeting did not hold and nothing was done by the ministry afterward, though it gave a promise.
“We were initially told that the land was to be used to build additional blocks of flats, which we kicked against as it would negate what it was being used for and originally meant for. The LBIC yielded to our argument and protest by discontinuing the construction works on the land, especially as we provided documents that showed it was for a sewage recycling plant.” Adeyemi said all these happened in 2023, but by January 2024, some policemen who claimed to be members of the state taskforce came to the place to chase out those found on site and about 24 hours later construction work started on the land. “And it has not stopped,” he stated.
A resident of the estate, Mr. Keshiroolabode also corroborated the position of Adeyemi, wondering why an agency of government would be promoting illegality and carrying out it with impunity.
He said that those who took over the land did not stop at that, as they damaged a section of the walkway and drainage on the Lagos- Badagry Expressway to create an alternative entrance for the complex on the expressway.
It was also gathered that aside the faeces from the residents of the estate being channeled into the central sewage recycling plant, the complex was being used by sewage evacuation truckoperators, who usually empty faeces collected from homes around Amuwoodofin Local Council and neighbouring communities into the sewage recycling plant for treatment before being dumped into the nearby canal.
However, the sign board placed at the entrance of the complex providing details of ongoing construction works around the contentious land revealed that a bonded terminal is being built to take the place of the demolished central sewage recycling plants. The board also stated that the LBIC is the client of the contractor, whether that is true is another issue.
This is because findings online about the duties of LBIC revealed that it is a player in the affordable housing initiative of the Lagos State government. The principal activity of the bank remains the provision of mortgage finance facilities to prospective homeowners, its website says.
The Director, Ministry of Housing was contacted; she said that LBIC was in the best position to comment on the issues after being briefed.
Attempt to get the LBIC to comment was not successful. When the Managing Director of LBIC, Oluwatobilawal, published in the Lagos State diary was contacted, he claimed he was no longer the MD, but the estate residents claimed he masterminded and executed the deals that led to the demolition of the sewage plant.
Thereafter, the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources was contacted, its Director, Public Affairs, Mrkunleadeshina, promised to get in touch with the appropriate agency, Lagos State Wastewater Management Office managing the sewage plant and the complex, for the right feedback.
He got back to say that the agency said that the land was not sold as claimed by the residents but being repurposed. He further said that there are plans to build a new central sewage recycling plant to replace the one that was demolished.
According to him, the old central sewage recycling plant was pulled down because it was no longer of standard for recycling waste water including faeces. He, however, failed to provide when a new central sewage recycling plant would be built for the residents despite it was more than a year the old one was knocked down.
On which organisation is carrying out ongoing construction on the contentious land and what is it about, he said that he does not know and that it is the only information he was provided by the waste water management office that he could provide.