Canal construction has resumed at Oko Oba, the Agege area of Lagos where residents of the community have always been gripped by fear whenever it rains.
PUNCH Metro confirmed on Saturday that workers have returned to the site of the canal which was said to have been under construction for over two years.
The development followed a recent report by PUNCH Metro that residents were groaning over the bad state of the canal and the bridges in the area where flooding always wreaked havoc during downpours.
In June, a flood induced by a downpour washed a yet-to-be-identified mother, her baby and six other persons including a man identified simply as Umar, into the canal in the area. Residents blamed the abandoned canal for the unfortunate incident.
Also, during the Eid-el-Kabir festival in 2022, seven persons were swept into the canal on Oyatoki Street, an incident residents described as heartbreaking.
Residents told our correspondent who visited the area that construction of the bridge on Alhaji Oladipupo Street resumed on Friday.
One of them, James Joel, however, lamented that mere manual labour was being employed to construct the bridge.
While a mixing machine and an excavator were seen on the site, Joel said, “My concern is that labourers are employed to construct a canal by using mere head pans. What they need here are well-equipped machines to guarantee standard work. Heavy duty vehicles cannot move on that bridge for just one month with the way they are constructing it.”
The Chairman, Orile Agege Local Council Development Area, Johnson Babatunde, was unreachable for comments as of press time as his line was not connecting.
Contacted, the councillor of the Orile Agege Ward A, Azeez Akinola, simply said, “Yes yes,” affirming the fact that construction had resumed in the area. “Let me call you back,” he added on Saturday, but he was yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
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