Landlords and residents of Tunde Afolabi Street, a residential area in Ajah area of Lagos State, have petitioned Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on the illegal and reckless activities of sand dredgers in the community.
The residents accused the sand dredgers of using their trucks to destroy roads, disrupt movements, and instill psychological trauma on landlords and residents of the street, adding that the operators are daily frustrating the Sanwo-Olu’s urban renewal programme.
The petition, filed on behalf of the association by its solicitor, SkyFall Partners and signed by Cookel Oke George, urged the government to deploy the state’s special task force and KAI Brigade to curtail the excess activities of the dredgers and their trucks in Ajah especially on Tunde Afolabi Street.
While lamenting the refusal of the dredging operators to obey an earlier directive to cease operation until a suitable parking arrangement is made for them, the association said the recklessness of the truck drivers is endangering lives and property within the estate.
The petition reads: “Sir, these dredgers were adequately informed to cease operation and so shall it be until they have put in place adequate/proper parking arrangements for all the tippers serving their interest.
“Sadly and most regrettably, the sand dredging operators have deliberately refused to shut down their sand dredging operations. They have religiously breached the above action point reached. Their actions have frustrated the administration’s effort to free the Ajah interchange and achieve enduring peace as canvassed by the Hon. Commissioner for Transport and the Hon. Commissioner for Physical Planning.”
Explaining the effect of the illegal activities on residents and infrastructure in the area, the association told the governor that the sand dredging operators has escalated their impunity on the affected street with reckless abandon.
