Compensate Lagos flood victims, probe coastal road, Doherty tells govt

Funso Doherty, the Lagos State governorship candidate for the National Democratic Congress, has called on the state government to compensate residents and business owners affected by recent widespread flooding. He also urged an independent investigation into whether environmental failures linked to major infrastructure projects exacerbated the disaster.

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Lagos is once again being ravaged by flood waters. Homes flooded, businesses shut, with widespread damage to lives and property. 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.

Doherty stated on X that while irresponsible waste disposal might play a role, it doesn't fully explain the scale of devastation. He pointed to what he described as long-standing environmental governance failures at both state and federal levels.

His concerns are particularly focused on the Lagos Coastal Road project. Doherty cited documents obtained from the Bureau of Public Procurement, suggesting that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was available when the N1.1tn contract for Section One of the project was reviewed by the BPP. This is despite a N400 million provision for such an assessment within the contract awarded to Hi-Tech Construction.

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It shows that the road contract was specified, designed, costed and awarded (and it subsequently commenced) without an EIA having first been properly done to assess and incorporate environmental concerns.

"It shows that the road contract was specified, designed, costed and awarded (and it subsequently commenced) without an EIA having first been properly done to assess and incorporate environmental concerns," Doherty wrote. He also criticized the arrangement where the contractor was responsible for procuring the EIA, citing a conflict of interest that could compromise objectivity.

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For such a project, the EIA should not be procured through the contractor building the road (Hi-Tech) as part of its contract, as there is an obvious conflict of interest in those roles that could undermine the independence of the EIA and impair the objectivity of its conclusions.

Doherty believes the flooding impacting communities near the coastal road should not have been a surprise. He is calling for a thorough independent investigation, prompt remediation, and fair compensation for those who suffered losses, including resettlement assistance where applicable, if failures in due process and EIA laws are found to have contributed to the hardship.

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I call for a proper independent investigation, prompt remediation measures and provision for fair compensation for losses suffered by residents and property owners with resettlement assistance as appropriate, where failure to follow due process and adhere to the Environmental Impact Assessment laws is established to have contributed to or caused the severe hardship bein