The Lagos State Government has ordered the removal of shanties along the Blue Rail line from Orile to Iyana Iba.
The directive came from the Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, who supervised removing some of the shanties on Sunday.
Wahab said the enforcement becomes imperative following the expiration of a one-month notice given by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to all street traders, squatters, and occupiers of shanties and abandoned vehicles presently on the stretch of Lagos-Badagry Expressway from Orile up to Iyana-Iba.
The commissioner said the right of way for the Lagos-Badagry Expressway stands between 90 to 120 meters, and any structure that falls within that area will not be allowed to stand.
He also warned commercial vehicle operators on the corridor to maintain their designated parks, and said any vehicle seen picking up or dropping passengers at undesignated bus stops along the road will be towed away and the owners prosecuted.
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Wahab emphasized that the state governor intends to restore the greenery and beautify the Lagos-Badagry Expressway corridor as well as other parts of the state, including Agege, Lagos Island, Ikeja, and other areas where illegal traders have encroached on the right-of-way.
He said the Special Intervention Team set up by the governor is cleaning up the Lagos-Badagry Expressway to rid it of all environmental nuisances and black spots, and that the exercise will be sustained to ensure that ejected squatters do not return to rebuild their shanties.
Wahab also warned street traders in different parts of the state that no area encroached upon will be left out of the clean-up, and urged traders at Afolabi Ege Market, Iyana Iba, to relocate within seven days as they are the causes of the man-made traffic bottlenecks along the axis.
The commissioner warned residents against creating illegal dumpsites, with particular reference to one noticed at the Eric Moore end of Surulere, saying that the government is determined to find a lasting solution to illegal dumpsites and gave a directive of evacuation of the black spot within 24 hours to the State Waste Management Authority.
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