In the wake of the severe flooding that hit Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, this week, the Lagos State Government has issued an apology to residents and commuters affected by the disruptive weather event.
Tokunbo Wahab, the Lagos State Commissioner of Environment and Water Resources, took to Channels Television on Thursday to address the situation, acknowledging the inconvenience caused to the people of Lagos.
"I will start by saying to Lagosians, 'We are sorry for the inconvenience caused due to nature's cause yesterday morning,'" Wahab said.
The torrential rains, which lasted for several hours, left millions stranded and many areas submerged, leading to gridlock and disrupting economic activities in the metropolis.
Reacting to the development, the commissioner emphasized that the floods were not a result of the government's lack of planning. "It's not for failure to plan that we had what happened yesterday," he said.
"No, it was nature taking its full course. And we are sorry for those whose lives were disrupted: they could not go to work, they could not go to their marketplaces, they couldn't go to school."
According to Wahab, the Lagos State Government had taken proactive measures to manage the situation, with emergency teams deployed as early as 4 a.m. on the day of the flooding.
"Emergency teams were on the ground since around 4 a.m. I've been up since around 4 a.m. yesterday," the commissioner stated.
While acknowledging the impacts of the floods, Wahab noted that the situation was managed a few hours after the initial disruption.