Lagos to eject occupants from roads’ setbacks, others

Lagos State Government says it is set to commence the enforcement and clearing of illegal occupants along Right of Ways and road setbacks on major highways and expressway across the state.
The exercise, which the government said would be massive, was also meant to ensure sustainability on the state highways.
Commissioner for the Environment, Tunji Bello, in a statement on Sunday, said the government was worried that residents of the state were gradually turning roads in the state to other things they were not meant for.
Bello said, "It is disheartening to see how our major roads and highways like Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Ikorodu Road, Agege Motor Road, Lagos Badagry Expressway, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Ojuelegba/Stadium and Surulere have been converted to auto marts, mechanic workshop, furniture workshop and vulcanizers workshops among others.
"It is so embarrassing to see how our road setbacks have been turned to mobile markets and so on. This is completely against the Environmental Laws of the state as well as the Federal Highway Act.
"Globally, expressways constitute an important link in the economy chain of a nation. They are also conceived primarily to safely carry large volumes of traffic between two locations.
"According to international standard, a Right of Way is a statutory corridor through which the road passes. For this class of roads, 75 meters is measured from the outer edge of the road on both sides.
"The corridor is usually demarcated from its surroundings, by fencing and landscaping or deliberate vegetation along its entire length. The aim is to make it impossible for vehicles, human and stray animals to enter the road from both sides and thereby prevent hazard or impediment to prevent free flow of traffic."
The commissioner said the current practice, where sidewalks and road setbacks had become markets on the Lagos Ibadan Expressway, Apapa-Oshodi Expresway, Agege Motor Road and other major roads would no longer be allowed.