‘Removal of Lekki street gates done in larger interest of residents’

Lagos Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources Tokunbo Wahab, yesterday, told members of the Lekki Residents Association that the decision to remove inner street gates in Lekki 1 was taken in the larger interest of all residents.

Wahab, who spoke at a stakeholders meeting convened by his transport counterpart, Oluwaseun Oshiyemi, at Alausa, said it was a very painful decision because the state had the responsibility to regulate operations at Lekki 1, which is a government scheme.
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Noting that the action is regrettable, Wahab said all the removed gates are intact and would be returned to the various zones of the association immediately an amicable agreement is reached on modalities for re-installing them.

He said the decision to remove all the gates was to avoid a situation where the state would be accused of cherry picking.

He said part of the agreement must include a provision that the gates cannot be shut before 12 a.m., and they must have personnel manning them to ensure seamless entry and exit for all residents.

Wahab said part of the larger picture was that many people, areas and institutions got away with infractions because they worked in silos, and there was no synergy. He said this has now become a thing of the past.

He corrected the notion that only the ministry of transportation could deal with removal of street gates, saying all ministries represent sub units of one whole system, which could be directed by Mr Governor because they are all linked and inter related.

Speaking, Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Oshiyemi said the meeting was not to apportion blame but to ensure that if the streets are to be gated, all laid down rules and regulations must be abided with.

He added that while the state government is not keen to put personal security of the Lekki 1 residents in jeopardy, it will also not jeopardise the free movement of people.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Lekki Residents Association, Yomi Idowu, appealed to the state government to reconsider the decision to remove all the inner gates.

He explained that following the directives of the Ministry of Transportation to the Lekki Residents Association to keep all the inner gates open, the association complied but had to contend with some recalcitrant street residents who refused to open theirs.

Idowu recalled that he also experienced the issue of non admittance to some streets in Lekki 1 where he was asked to provide access codes which he described as unwarranted and condemnable.

He attributed the indiscriminate erection of street gates to the experience residents had during the EndSARS riot which brought about a quest to protect themselves against intrusion.
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