Lagos State Government (LASG) issued a seven-day deadline on Sunday to shanty owners and shopkeepers on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway setback to shift behind the road setback or relocate completely.
The Lagos-Badagry Expressway connects the Blue Line train service from Orile to Iyana Iba, as well as its right-of-way.
Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, issued the ultimatum during an inspection tour of the train line corridor.
He emphasized the importance of fully restoring the Right-of-Way of the Blue Line rail service, which had been infringed upon by shanty owners and dealers.
Wahab emphasized that the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, through which the corridor travels, is an international route whose setback must be respected.
He said that the setback for the Lagos-Badagry Expressway was between 90 and 120 meters from the road, and that any construction built on the setback would be prohibited.
He added that the government’s one-month notice to traders, squatters, and occupiers of shanties and abandoned vehicles on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway to leave had expired.
The commissioner highlighted the Agboju sector of the corridor, where squatters had established shanties on the road setback, and promised that the area will be beautified after the shanties were removed.
He advised obstinate occupants of shanties under the bridge before Abule Osun, also on the corridor, to leave before the government’s enforcement squad pushed them out.
Wahab warned commercial vehicle operators on the route that cars picking up or dropping off passengers at undesignated bus stops will be seized and their owners prosecuted.
The commissioner told the commissioner that the government was resolved to restore greenery and beautify the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, Agege, Lagos Island, Ikeja, and other sites where traders had encroached on the Right-of-Way.
“A special intervention team is cleaning up the Lagos-Badagry Expressway to rid it of all environmental nuisances and black spots.
“The exercise will be sustained to ensure that ejected squatters do not return to rebuild their shanties,’’ Wahab said.
