At least 500,000 residents of Iponri Low-Cost Housing Estate, Surulere Local Government Area, Lagos State, on Sunday appealed to the Lagos State Government to save their lives from epidemic looming in the area.
The sewage plant that usually drains dirty water from the soak-away of more than 400 housing units with 500,000 residents had been disconnected by Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) due to unpaid bills.
Due to the development, the sewage plant had flooded the estate by dirty water from the soak away.
President, Iponri Housing Estate Residents’ Association, Mr Abdul-Rasak Osho, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the sewage plant constructed by the Lagos State Government was being maintained by the Ministry of the Environment.
“The residents noticed that the sewage plant stopped working about three months ago. We met the engineer-in-charge who told us that the power supply to the plant had been disconnected because LASG owed the EKEDC.
“We bought diesel for them to power the plant but it was exhausted within just five hours. We have appealed to EKEDC to restore the power supply but it said not until the Lagos State Government must have paid what it owed the company.
“The sewage plant has been under the government care since we bought flats in this estate and government has not told us that it can no longer maintain it.
“Presently, the dirty water has flooded everywhere in the estate. We cannot even pass some routes now because of the flood,” he said.
Osho, therefore, appealed to the state government to offset the bill so that EKEDC would restore power supply to the sewage plant and save the estate from the impending epidemic.
