Vehicular and business activities were grounded across parts of Lagos on Wednesday following hours of heavy downpour that left several communities flooded.
The rain submerged flood-prone areas such as Maryland, Lekki, Ogba and Ikorodu, leaving homes, shops and places of worship overrun by water.
Videos shared online showed residents wading through flooded streets while motorists crawled through waterlogged roads. Some vehicles even broke down, worsening traffic that kept commuters stuck for hours.
Reacting, the state Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said Lagos, being a coastal city, remains vulnerable during heavy rains. He explained that flooding in Lekki’s Kusenla axis was due to a technical challenge with the drainage system and promised that a pumping station was already in the works to tackle it.
He blamed flooding near House on the Rock church on illegal constructions and indiscriminate dumping of refuse, warning that such infractions will no longer be tolerated.
Wahab assured Lagosians that most of Wednesday’s flooding had receded by Thursday morning and urged residents to support government efforts by keeping drains clean and avoiding building on floodplains.
