The Igbogbo community in Ikorodu division of Lagos State, has accused the dredgers operating in the community for being responsible for the bad conditions of the roads in the community.
The accusation was made at a stakeholders meeting that was organized by the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) recently.
Chief Tajudeen Alade Onasanya, the Odofin of Igbogbo, who spoke on behalf of Oba Semiudeen Kasali, the Adeboruwa of Igbogbo, while complaining about the impact of dredging activities in Igbogbo at the meeting, accused the dredgers, who according to him, usual come with tippers to carry sand after dredging, of leaving lots of craters and potholes around the community.
He explained that the action of the dredgers had also caused conflict in the community as they have been alleged to have sidelined the Oba while sealing deals with the Baales (Chiefs) in their respective areas of operations without knowing that the Baales were installed by the Oba.
Chief Onasanya said that such action always result in conflict as the Oba would claim that he has no information about the deals after the dredgers have secured dredging permits from the Baales, adding that the issues sometimes attracted litigations.
He stated that it was bad idea for the dredgers to enter into deals with the chiefs because some of the chiefs were not in good terms with their Obas.
“Dredgers need to be told that there are Obas in the communities where they operate and that the Obas are the ones they should consult before embarking on any dredging work or deals”.
While also speaking during the meeting, one of the dredgers and the managing director of chase Dredging and Construction Limited, Yomi Idowu, said there was also a conflict between the Lagos State and Federal Government, concerning the control of the waterways.
Reacting to the information that NIWA had resolved the waterways control conflict with Lagos State, Idowu expressed fears that operators could all face challenge with the Lagos state agents.
He said, “It is not enough to say that the issues have been resolved because when operators go back to site, agents from Lagos state can come and arrest them, take them to their courts and the operators would be asked to pay amount ranging from N1million and above.
Idowu sought assurance from NIWA that if operators are arrested, NIWA would take responsibility for the penalties that would be imposed on them.
He also lamented the activities of sea robbers, saying that they are worse than land robbers because they disappeared without a trace after committing the crime.
He called for s structure and direction in the movement of boats on the Lagos waterways, saying that it is not organized like they have in cities like Venice and others.
The NIWA managing director, Dr. George Moghalu, in his response, assured Idowu and Chief Onasanya that the agency would resolve the issue they had raised to the best of its ability.
He assured Idowu that indeed, the Lagos State government is working in collaboration with NIWA to keep the waterways effective and that there is no conflict.
Dr. Moghalu also assured Chief Onasanya that the agency would look into the activities of the dredgers but that the issue about roads was not under his purview.