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Lagos Orders Immediate Suspension of All Reclamation Projects
Approved projects, he added, must be resubmitted for verification
The Lagos State Government has announced the immediate suspension of all reclamation projects across the state, warning that it will no longer tolerate the indiscriminate conversion of wetlands, floodplains and lagoons into housing and infrastructure developments.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, the ministry expressed grave concern over what it described as the alarming proliferation of reclamation activities being carried out without the necessary Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approvals or drainage clearance.
According to Wahab, the affected areas include Parkview, Banana Island, Osborne, Victoria Island Extension, Lekki, Ajah, Oworonshoki, Lagos Mainland, Ikorodu, Ojo and Badagry. He said while reclamation may offer space for housing and infrastructure, it also exposes the state to significant environmental and social risks.
These, he explained, range from increased flooding and coastal erosion to the destruction of wetlands and biodiversity, disruption of livelihoods, constriction of lagoon capacity and deterioration of water quality.
“With the low-lying topography of Lagos and its fragile ecosystem, the government cannot afford to allow this indiscriminate reclamation to continue unchecked,” Wahab said. He directed that all reclamation projects, whether or not they had approvals, must cease immediately pending proper documentation and monitoring.
Approved projects, he added, must be resubmitted for verification, while new or ongoing ones must undergo the full EIA process and secure official clearance from the ministry.
The commissioner warned that those who fail to comply within seven days of the directive would face stringent sanctions. These include the decommissioning of reclaimed sites, excavation and removal of fill materials, the reopening of blocked water channels and the arrest and prosecution of anyone found engaging in illegal reclamation.
“Enough is enough,” Wahab declared, insisting that the government would deploy the necessary machinery to enforce the order in order to protect the state’s environment and safeguard the wellbeing of its people.
