The Ogun State Government today, ordered recidents whose homes are located near wetland regions to evacuate to safer ground before the rainy season begins.
Mr. Ola Oresanya, the state Commissioner for Environment, issued the advice while addressing at the 2024 State Flood Alert, which was hosted in Abeokuta in collaboration with the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority.
According to Oresanya, the order is unavoidable in light of predictions by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) of an average 239 days of rainfall and 1, 786.5mm of precipitation, affecting 16 of the state’s 20 local government areas.
Oresanya said that the four local government districts of Odeda, Abeokuta South, Abeokuta North, and Imeko-Afon will receive the least amount of rainfall.
The commissioner urged calm, emphasising that the state government is taking steps to mitigate the consequences of the anticipated high rains, despite the fact that inhabitants in hilly regions would suffer erosion due to the speed and volume of the water.
“It is either you relocate from the area or you elevate; may be you want to reconstruct your house or do some kind of elevation if you must stay in that area. Every year, we talk about relocation. It is not easy to relocate. If you must leave in those areas, make sure that your electronics, your chairs, whatever can be damaged is being elevated.
“When we talk about relocation and elevation, it is going to be predominantly around this area. People leaving within the wetland of the state are supposed to prepare for this increase in the height of the water because we are going to have a retention of this lockdown around this period.
“So, people who are located in the hill areas are going to have some kind of erosion because of the speed the water will take in running down around the Ilaro area and some areas in Ota. We are going to have what we call erosion that is going to accompany this kind of flooding for the year.
“The other areas that we will have the impact which is later on are people that are leaving within the wetland of the state and the wetland area are predominantly Southern parts of the state and this are almost flat land, low line land because this are the border towns between Lagos and Ogun State,” he stated.
cc: Leadership Ng
