The Ogun State government has threatened that owners of houses built on drainage channels would pay for the demolition of their houses.
The government had asked those whose houses were marked for demolition for obstructing the flow of water to remove them voluntarily. Otherwise, the state government would demolish the structures at a cost payable by the house owners.
The Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, gave the warning when he led a state government multi-sectoral team on flood mitigation and control to assess the impact of urban flooding in Ikenne Local Government Area.
According to him, the owners of the marked buildings have been given enough notices and ultimatums, but they are still waiting for the state government to remove the property.
He stressed that the property owners will pay the state government “for using taxpayers’ money to remove it for them and further face possible penalties as the government will drag them to court for contravening the state environmental laws.”
The commissioner directed the affected landlords to remove their structures to avoid sanctions.
He also directed them to channel their wastewater properly by constructing and maintaining tertiary drains in front of their houses; otherwise, they are to show evidence of wastewater retention tanks to complement the state government’s efforts at constructing and maintaining primary and secondary trunks.
“Any house owner that fails to comply with these directives by allowing his or her wastewater to flow onto the roads will be penalised.
“We will not fold our hands and see people destroy roads built with taxpayers’ money. The state government has invested heavily in this road infrastructure, and one of the key things that destroy it is this habit of our people, which must stop forthwith,” Oresanya added.
