The Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, has warned that the state could face the risk of being submerged by water if appropriate actions aren’t taken soon. He referenced New York City where residents are already relocating due to the impacts of climate change. ..ALSO READ FULL FROM SOURCE ↔️
Dr. Hamzat expressed the concern at the opening of the Lagos State Strategic Management Meeting with MDAs and stakeholders in justice delivery in Lagos State held on Wednesday in Ikeja, Lagos.
He noted that the most significant challenge in the country is that “we don’t know how to manage land” and that “our physical plan is lost”.
He added that; in Lagos State, because of our geography, because of our population, because of our size, we are 22 million, we occupy only 0.4% or less than 0.38% of the land mass of Nigeria, and we are responsible for 10% of the people.
“So that’s a mismatch and we have a 180 kilometer shoreline, we are surrounded by water. Today, Lagos, New York City, they are sinking.” he said.
Dr Hamzat identified three existential threats against the state to include the extreme heat., Climate change because of sea level rising adding “So in the next 20, 25 years, our priorities must change. So I should be able to say that and that estate must go”.
“In UK, 14% is London City. The rest is the federal government. New York Underground, the same thing. So how do we manage our lands? So if our Ministry of Justice, our lawyers, and our judges don’t have this proper understanding that the future of our children is threatened when these cases come to court, then we are missing the point”, he further stated.
He said that in the city of New York now, they’ve stopped high-rises approval for the next few years because the city is sinking due to the number of high-rises.
In his opening remarks, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Lawal Pedro SAN, emphasized the need for the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to devise strategies to reduce litigation, minimize inter-ministerial gaps, and limit government exposure to avoidable liabilities.
He explained that the purpose of the stakeholder meeting was to reduce government litigations in courts, preventing further clogging of the justice delivery system with avoidable cases.
He added that as; As of July 2024, before the courts’ annual vacation, there were over 6,047 pending cases involving the government across various categories, including land disputes (over 2,500 cases), physical planning (310), housing (240), road transportation (150), environment (75), chieftaincy (250), breach of contract (50), employment and pension (50), and constitutional and FMHR cases (150).👉 For More READ FULL CONTENT FROM THE SOURCE ↔️
