Some residents in Ibeju-Lekki axis of Lagos state on Saturday decried their loss of valuables worth millions of Naira due to the flood from persistent rainfall in the state.
The residents who were interviewed by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) also blamed the poor drainage facilities in the community.
According to some residents, the early morning downpour left several roads and homes in the area flooded.
Mr Luqman Balogun, a member of the Community Development Association (CDA), in Ibeju-Lekki, said that it had been a long time since the community witnessed such torrential rain.
“We can neither go to the office nor stay at home comfortably now as many of our valuables are already destroyed by flood.
“I never believed we could be sacked by flood because we live in a predominantly sandy environment, due to our proximity to the ocean.
“What I have observed now is that there are no working drainage channels in Ibeju-Lekki, as we have in other parts of Lagos State,’’ he said.
Mr. Balogun mentioned some of the areas affected by the flood included Kajola, Majek first-gate area, Lakowe, Eleko, Oribanwa and Awoyaya, among several others.
The flood also affected commercial businesses in the community, including the hospitality sector.
“I am a hotel operator. We hotel owners are also complaining of low patronage due to bad roads, epileptic power supply, the absence of a functional drainage system and other issues.
“Despite all the challenges, government is still giving us estimated taxes and ridiculous bills.
“We have not been enjoying any infrastructure in this community, yet we pay our taxes and there is virtually no serious encouragement from government,’’ he said.
Another resident Mr Seyi Bakare decried the poor condition of the Ibeju/lekki expressway. He noted that the major road in the area had started to develop several portholes, thereby causing some traffic bottlenecks on the expressway
Bakare added that the journey from the Ajah axis to Epe/Ibeju -Lekki which ought to be about 45 minutes now lasts about an hour-and-a-half.
Mr Lanre Solution, another resident of Ibeju-Lekki called on a the Lagos State government to help fix the Lekki/Epe expressway, which he said, was the major road linking Ibeju/Lekki to Epe.
Acxording to him, adequate maintenance of the road would enhance business activities in the area.
Mrs Bola Fadahunsi, another resident, lamented that the bad roads and flooding is a leading cause to the damage of their vehicles, costing them much more money to maintain.