Environmental regulation and infrastructure
Keypoints
- The Lagos State Government warned that indiscriminate dredging has caused a severe scarcity and high cost of sand, threatening construction and food security.
- Developers in Lekki-Ajah are now forced to pump sand from locations as far as Ikorodu, covering distances of up to 10 to 12 kilometres due to localized depletion.
- The Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development is strictly regulating dredging licences while demanding accurate data on daily extraction volumes.
- Aggressive dredging is disrupting marine habitats, forcing local fishermen to travel farther and driving up the market cost of fish.
- Heavy-duty dredging equipment has caused severe infrastructural damage to roads in coastal communities such as Ibese in Ikorodu.
Main Story
The Lagos State Government has raised fresh concerns over the growing dangers associated with indiscriminate dredging activities across the state, warning that the increasing scarcity and high cost of sand could trigger wider economic, environmental, and food security challenges if urgent measures are not taken.
The Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Dayo Bush Alebiosu, disclosed this while presenting his Ministry’s account of stewardship in the last two years to journalists at the annual ministerial press briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja.
According to the Commissioner, while dredging remains essential for development and land reclamation projects, the growing desperation for sand across Lagos is already exposing the dangers of over-exploitation of the state’s waterways and coastal resources.
Alebiosu noted that developers carrying out reclamation projects in the Lekki-Ajah axis now source sand from communities as far as Ikorodu, sometimes pumping sand across distances of up to 10 to 12 kilometres due to depletion in closer locations. He warned that this development points to mounting pressure on available sand deposits across the state and underscores the urgent need for accurate data and stricter regulation of dredging activities.
The Issues
- The depletion of nearshore sand reserves forces developers to implement complex, long-distance pumping logistics, significantly inflating the baseline cost of real estate and public infrastructure delivery.
- Ecological degradation from aggressive dredging disrupts benthic microorganisms, directly undermining the artisanal fishing industry and inflating food prices in local markets.
- Regulatory enforcement is undermined by local collaborators who permit illegal operators, including foreign nationals, to exploit community waterfronts for immediate economic gain.
What’s Being Said
- “If you are reclaiming land in Ajah and you now have to pump sand from Ikorodu, it means the sand resources within Ajah are gradually running out,” Dayo Bush Alebiosu stated.
- “We need proper data. We need to know how many people are dredging, how much sand is being dredged daily, and what is left within those areas,” the Commissioner emphasized.
- “Whenever dredging disturbs aquatic life, fishermen are forced to work harder, and naturally, the cost of fish goes up,” Alebiosu added regarding food security.
- “We cannot continue blaming foreigners alone. We must ask ourselves how they got there in the first place. They definitely have the connivance of some locals,” he noted.
What’s Next
- The Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development, alongside the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, will intensify continuous enforcement and monitoring operations against illegal sites.
- Government agencies will deploy stricter data-tracking mechanisms to audit active dredging operators, daily extraction metrics, and remaining aggregate volumes.
- Waterfront communities like Ibese are expected to see increased community policing and whistleblowing coordination to prevent further heavy-duty equipment damage to public roads.
Bottom Line
Lagos State is tightening its grip on maritime extraction, signaling that unrestricted sand mining will no longer be tolerated as localized depletion threatens to stall the construction sector and compromise coastal food supplies.
