As torrential rain and massive floods continue to ravage the Lagos metropolis, the state government has raised the alarm over weakened wires of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), and said that the firm’s snapping wires had made the city unsafe for residents.
The director-general of the Lagos State Safety Commission (LSC), Mrs Dominga Odebunmi, made this call at a two-day seminar on risk and safety management, with the theme: “Organising and Managing Events Safely.”
She said that the call came on the heels of a fallen high tension pole on the Third Mainland Bridge as a result of the heavy downpour.
She said: “Pipelines, electric and telephone poles are vulnerable at this time of the season. They are weak and need urgent repair. The rain is not going to add value to them but make them dilapidate faster. The pipeline can at this time easily spill petroleum product on the soil while the poles can fall on residents of Lagos.
“There are so many poles that are outdated and still hanging on the streets of Lagos; these poles are just metres above mini-buses which may fall on residents any moment from now.
“We urge both PHCN and telephone operators to remove poles that are out of use and replace them with new ones that can withstand the heavy downpour.”
Odebunmi explained that the state government did not want pipe-lines to be subjected to the current harsh weather in the country without adequate maintenance’’, and urged the contractors to endeavour to use quality materials and not hide under the pretence of the persistent rainfall to deliver shabby projects.