Months after PREMIUM TIMES report, work begins on health facilities in Lagos flood-prone communities

Months after PREMIUM TIMES reported how flooding and poor access to healthcare were putting pregnant women at risk in two Lagos communities, residents say authorities have begun addressing the problems highlighted in the report.

In Agboyi, a riverine community in Kosofe Local Government Area, residents report ongoing renovations at an old primary healthcare centre in Agboyi I, which was not functioning properly when PREMIUM TIMES visited the community in October 2025.

Lameed Shakiru, chairman of the Ward Health Committee for Agboyi II and III, confirmed the development, saying the Agboyi-Ketu Local Council Development Area, under the administration of Adetola Abubakar, is carrying out the renovation.

Videos and photographs shared with PREMIUM TIMES show workers at the facility, with construction equipment, including a concrete mixer and drilling machine, at the site.

Mr Shakiru said as of 8 October 2026, work had progressed to the filling stage.

Health centre remains a priority

The renovation is significant because the non-functional PHC was one of the challenges identified in the PREMIUM TIMES report published in November 2025.

The report documented how flooding in Agboyi, where the community is surrounded by the Lagos Lagoon, makes movement difficult and can delay access to emergency healthcare.

A community nurse told PREMIUM TIMES during the earlier visit that residents sometimes had to find canoe or boat operators to evacuate women who needed urgent medical attention.

One woman, Fatima Sulaimon, also recounted how she delivered her fifth child in a fishing canoe after flooding made it difficult to reach a hospital.

SDG facility gets attention

PREMIUM TIMES also confirmed that remedial work has begun at the 40-bed PHC facility in Agboyi III, which was highlighted in the earlier investigation.

The facility, constructed by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs), led by Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, was completed but remained locked after flooding submerged its walkway and ground floor.

Mr Shakiru said the affected ground floor had since been cleared and filled, while additional work was ongoing around the facility.

Desmond Utomwen, spokesperson for OSSAP-SDGs, also told PREMIUM TIMES that the office remains committed to making the facility functional and is working with relevant state-level stakeholders to achieve this.

“The office is committed to it. God help us. We expect the state government to deploy personnel to activate it. We will keep you posted,” Mr Utomwen said.

He acknowledged that the location has a serious waterlogging problem, which he attributed largely to the topography of the riverine community.

Mr Utomwen added that the office would address any further problems identified and “ensure the facility is eventually put to use.”

Canal cleared

In Amukoko, another flood-prone community covered in the PREMIUM TIMES report, residents said authorities have cleared dirt from a major canal that had remained clogged for years.

During the investigation, residents told PREMIUM TIMES that the canal had not been dredged for more than four years, worsening flooding in the community.

A PREMIUM TIMES follow-up found that the canal was cleared in August. However, residents said the work did not amount to full dredging.

“They cleared it in August. They only parked the periphery; it was not dredged,” said Abubakar Abolore, a resident affected by the flooding.

Mr Abolore said residents were grateful for the clearing, but they want the authorities to do more.

“We hope the government can help with a tarred road, which will make it above the water level,” he said.