Flooding: Ekiti govt orders demolition of illegal structures on waterways

To prevent calamities that could lead to loss of lives and the destruction of multimillion-naira properties, the Ekiti State Government has directed local governments and the Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning to begin marking illegal structures obstructing waterways for possible demolition across the state.

The Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Chief Monisade Afuye, gave the directive on Monday during the flag-off of a stakeholders’ engagement on the 2025 Flood National Disasters and Response Campaign (NPRC), organised by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.

Speaking on the theme of the engagement, Strengthening Resilience, Enhancing Preparedness and Response, Afuye expressed regret that Ekiti has experienced repeated and devastating flooding, fire outbreaks, and thunder disasters in 2024 and 2025, wreaking havoc in several towns.

The Deputy Governor, who commended Governor Biodun Oyebanji for his substantial investment in environmental safety, called on the federal government to collaborate with the state in alleviating the sufferings of affected victims.

She reminded stakeholders that NiMet had predicted Ekiti as one of the possible flashpoints for flooding in 2025, making it necessary for local government chairmen to take proactive measures such as preventing desertification, ensuring regular desilting of waterways, encouraging tree planting, constructing flood barriers, avoiding construction in flood-prone areas, and promoting community-based disaster strategies.

She stated, “I want to appeal to NEMA and SEMA to partner with the local government chairmen and take this campaign to all our council areas. They should work alongside the Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning to mark all illegal structures on our waterways for possible demolition.

“I believe this is the only way to prevent deadly and devastating flooding as well as teach those erecting illegal structures on waterways without approval a lesson.”

Afuye urged local government chairmen to collaborate with traditional rulers to spread the anti-flooding campaign across the state in view of NiMet’s prediction, aiming to avert crises that could throw the state into unnecessary turmoil.

“Recently, the state has witnessed various forms of disasters, ranging from fire outbreaks to rainstorms. The state government has been assisting victims by providing relief materials and cash gifts to alleviate their suffering.

“We are soliciting the assistance of the federal government through NEMA for the allocation and release of relief materials. This will further complement the state government’s efforts in reducing the impact of these disasters on victims.

“NiMet predicted that Ekiti State is one of the states that may likely be affected by flooding this year. I am therefore appealing to all stakeholders to take proactive measures to prevent flood disasters in our dear state,” she said.

In her remarks, the Director General of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar, noted that the sensitisation programme was a swift response to NiMet’s predictions that certain states will experience flooding in 2025.

Umar, represented by Fred Anusim, the team lead and NEMA’s Head of Research and Planning, lamented the death of 150 persons in Mokwa, Niger State, where houses were submerged by flooding, attributing the disaster to human interference with nature.

She commended NiMet and the Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency for their annual flood outlook, which has helped prevent disasters in the country through accurate climatic predictions.

“With the use of weather satellite surveillance and flood risk modelling software, they have been able to forecast rainfall patterns in the country for all LGAs with 90% accuracy.

“This downscaling is the government’s approach, through NEMA, to sensitise the general public. It is our hope that this exercise will achieve its intended purpose, especially for the people of Ekiti State and the communities identified in the predictions.

“The incident in Mokwa, Niger State, was unfortunate, where over 150 lives were lost due to human interference with the natural geological structure of the earth through sand mining,” she said.

The General Manager of the Ekiti State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Oludare Asaolu, praised Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s proactive steps, including the dredging of waterways and drainages, which have helped mitigate cases of flooding in Ekiti.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers, Oba Ayorinde Ilori-Faboro, urged the federal government to focus on curbing the perennial erosion ravaging many communities in the state, describing it as the most troubling crisis affecting several towns.

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