APM, Doherty knock Lagos govt over flooding, demand probe, compensation for victims

Opposition voices in Lagos have blamed the state government’s environmental management and planning failures for the widespread flooding that crippled parts of the state on Tuesday, calling for an independent investigation, immediate relief for victims and stronger flood control measures.

The Lagos chapter of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and the New Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate, Funso Doherty, said the latest flooding exposed years of poor urban planning, inadequate drainage infrastructure and weak environmental governance, arguing that authorities must move beyond attributing the disaster solely to heavy rainfall and residents’ waste disposal habits.

In a statement on Tuesday, the APM described the recurring floods as evidence of government negligence, saying communities across Lagos continue to suffer avoidable losses whenever it rains.

“It is unacceptable that with every rainfall, communities across the state are thrown into fear and uncertainty,” the party said.

It noted that from Alimosho and Ikorodu to Agege, Oshodi, Lekki, Epe, Badagry and Surulere, roads became impassable, homes were submerged, businesses shut down, vehicles were damaged and families displaced.

According to the party, while flooding has natural causes, its persistence is largely the result of “years of poor urban planning, inadequate drainage infrastructure, weak environmental enforcement, and the inability of government to respond proactively despite repeated warnings.”

The opposition party urged the Lagos State Government to move beyond issuing seasonal flood advisories and embark on lasting interventions.

It called for comprehensive clearing and expansion of drainage channels, speedy completion of ongoing flood control projects, stricter enforcement of urban planning regulations and immediate assistance for affected residents and business owners.

“The people of Lagos deserve a government that plans ahead rather than reacts after disasters have occurred,” the statement said.

“They deserve a government that prioritises prevention over sympathy visits and media statements after lives and properties have already been lost.”

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The party, however, urged residents to avoid indiscriminate dumping of refuse into drainage channels, describing environmental sanitation as a shared responsibility, while insisting that the primary responsibility for providing effective drainage infrastructure rests with the government.

Also reacting to the flooding, Doherty linked the worsening situation in some coastal communities to alleged failures in environmental governance surrounding the construction of the Lagos Coastal Road.

He argued that blaming the flooding entirely on flash floods or poor waste disposal overlooked deeper structural issues.
“Lagos is once again being ravaged by flood waters,” Doherty said.

“Yet again, this is being attributed to flash flooding and, predictably, fingers are being pointed at residents disposing waste irresponsibly. This, however, does not tell the whole story.”

The governorship candidate said documents obtained from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) in 2024 indicated that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was not available to the bureau when it reviewed the contract for Section One of the Lagos Coastal Road project.

According to him, the documents showed that although about N400 million was included in the contract for an Environmental Impact Assessment, the project was allegedly awarded and commenced before such an assessment was properly carried out.

He further questioned the decision to include the EIA as part of the contractor’s responsibilities, arguing that it created a conflict of interest capable of compromising the independence of the assessment.

“It shows that the road contract was specified, designed, costed and awarded… without an EIA having first been properly done,” he said.

Doherty called for an independent investigation into the flooding, remediation measures and compensation for residents whose homes and businesses were affected if it is established that non-compliance with environmental laws contributed to the disaster.

“I call for a proper independent investigation, prompt remediation measures and provision for fair compensation for losses suffered by residents and property owners,” he said.

The criticism comes after severe flooding submerged several parts of Lagos following hours of heavy rainfall, disrupting economic activities, trapping commuters in traffic and damaging homes and businesses.

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The Lagos State Government has maintained that the incident was largely a flash flood caused by prolonged rainfall.

Tokunbo Wahab, commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, said water levels had receded in many affected areas hours after the rain, adding that government agencies were monitoring vulnerable locations and implementing measures to improve the state’s flood resilience.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) had earlier warned of heightened risks of flash flooding in Lagos and other coastal states due to persistent rainfall.