REMOVAL OF LEKKI INNER STREET GATES IN RESIDENT’S INTEREST – COMMISSIONER
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By Sefiu Ajape
Tokunbo Wahab, the Lagos Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, informed the Lekki Residents Association on Tuesday that the decision to remove inner street gates in Lekki I was taken in the greater interest of all residents of the state.
Speaking today at the Alausa stakeholders’ meeting called by his counterpart in transportation, Mr. Oluwaseun Oshiyemi, Tokunbo Wahab, said that the removal was an extremely difficult decision that had to be made because the state government is in charge of overseeing operations in Lekki I, a government scheme.
Wahab expressed remorse for the action taken and stated that all of the gates that were taken down were still in good condition. They will be put back in their original locations inside the resident association as soon as a mutually agreeable plan is made regarding the procedures for doing so.
He restated that in order to guarantee smooth access and departure for every resident, a clause in the agreement must state that the gates cannot be closed before midnight and that staff must be stationed there.
He claimed that avoiding the circumstance where the State would be accused of picking and choosing which streets had their gates taken down had a role in the decision to remove all of the gates.
Wahab claimed that because there was no synergy and many people in the state worked in isolation, they frequently got away with breaking the law. However, he added that this is now the past.
He dispelled the false idea that the removal of street gates was solely the responsibility of the Ministry of Transportation, stating that because all ministries are connected and interlinked, they all function as smaller parts of a larger system that is governed by Mr. Governor.
Speaking at the meeting, Commissioner of Transportation Mr. Oluwaseun Oshiyemi stressed that the purpose was not to assign blame but rather to make sure that all established guidelines would be followed in the event that the streets were to be gated.
He continued by saying that although the state government does not want to endanger the personal safety of Lekki I inhabitants, it will also not compromise the Constitution’s guarantee of free movement.
Prior to this, Mr. Yomi Idowu, the Chairman of the Lekki Residents Association, urged the state government to reevaluate its decision to remove all of the inner gates.
He clarified that the Lekki Residents Association cooperated with the Ministry of Transportation’s request to keep all inner gates open, but that they faced resistance from certain street residents who refused to open theirs.
Furthermore, he recalled that he had also encountered the problem of being refused entry to certain streets in Lekki I, where he was requested to furnish access codes that were both unnecessary and unacceptable.
He explained that the experience Lekki I people had during the #EndSARS riot led to their indiscriminate construction of street gates as a means of self-defense against intruders.
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