Quote:Residents of Atan-Kekere in the Ayobo-Ipaja Local Council Development Area of Lagos State have lamented the hardship they are facing as a result of the dilapidated state of the Atan-Kekere Road and the poor drainage channels causing the area to be flooded during rainy seasons.

The residents, while speaking with PUNCH Metro, alleged that the road and drainage channel being constructed by the Chairman of the Ayobo-Ipaja LCDA, Shakiru Yusuf, at Atan-Nla would increase their suffering, because it would direct flood from adjoining areas like the Borbit filling station road, Amule bus stop and Atan-Nla Road, among others, to the Atan-Kekere Road, which is currently in a deplorable state due to incessant flooding.

One of the landlords in the community, Adeniyi Adeola, said tenants were moving out of the area due to flooding, adding that the road and drainage construction, when completed, would turn Atan-Kekere into a depository for flood.

The engineer stated, “The construction being done by our chairman, Shakiru Yusuf, at Atan-Nla Road will have consequences on the adjoining streets, including the Atan-Kekere Road, which is currently in a bad state. In fact, the water passing through the drainage on the Atan-Kekere Road has no link to another road; so, the whole area is always flooded and this has negatively affected the road and our source of livelihood as tenants have been packing out of Atan-Kekere, but some of us cannot leave because our properties are here.

“Our area is usually in a very terrible state during the rainy season; fences are collapsing, because the volume of water coming from Atan-Nla is deposited on Atan-Kekere. For instance, the flood coming from Atan-Nla Road is from areas like Owolabi Street, Adogan playground, Borbit filling station road and Amule bus stop, and it settles on Atan-Kekere Road, especially, Unity-Agedo Street, among others.

“As I speak to you, the Atan-Kekere Road is no longer motorable; so, the construction of the Atan-nla Road will worsen our situation. This is because the volume of water coming from the road, which is on the high side, is too much for the Atan-Kekere Road, which is by the lower side of the community and leads to nowhere.

Another resident, Toba Fatiregun, while urging the chairman to redirect the drainage to another location or extend it to the Atan-Kekere Road instead of stopping at the Atan-Nla Road, said residents living on the Atan-Kekere Road were no longer safe.

The Osun State indigene stated, “A lot of residents, including myself, had to abandon our homes as a result of flood. We are not safe; in fact, I have left the place for months. Before I built my house, this was never the case; car owners can hardly drive into their houses now.

“Our plea is that the local government should extend the construction to the Atan-Kekere Road, or redirect the drainage to another location, because the Atan-Kekere Road is being used as a water depot without considering that people live and have their properties there.”

Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, while urging the state government to partner the Ayobo-Ipaja LCDA to extend the construction of the Atan-Nla Road to Atan-Kekere Road, alleged that Yusuf said he had no budget for an extension when the landlords and residents complained to him regarding the problems that the construction of the road was posing.

He said, “We implore the state government to partner the LCDA; we have met with the chairman to express our concern that the project will make our lives worse and that he should extend it. But he told us that he had no budget for the project to be extended to the Atan-Kekere Road, but said he would open the Atan-Kekere Road to connect Asipa Street.

“But that has not been done and the water has been flowing into surrounding compounds. We want him to redirect the drainage to another location because we are suffering.

When contacted, the secretary to the Ayobo-Ipaja LCDA, Abiodun Agbaje, said the local government’s tender board committee had approved the extension of the construction to Atan-Kekere, adding that the project would commence soon.

Agbaje said, “The road in question is the continuation of Atan-Kekere to link the main road at Asipa; as I speak to you, the second phase of the project has been awarded to the contractor. Any moment from now, the contractor will move to the site to continue the project from where the construction at Atan-Nla stopped.

“The Unity-Agedo Road at Atan-Kekere had been constructed before, but that area is waterlogged and because of that, this new construction will be done with interlocking stones like that of the Atan-Nla Road.

“The drainage will be widened to accommodate the water coming from the Atan-Nla Road so that it will not be spilling onto the Unity-Agedo Road. The local government’s tender board committee has already approved the contractor that will execute the project.”