The Ogun State Government says it has begun palliative work in the areas affected by the flood that accompanied last weekend’s torrential rainfall in Abeokuta.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Kunle Somorin, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
Somorin quoted the Commissioner for Environment, Abiodun Abudu-Balogun, as saying this in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
The statement quoted Abudu-Balogun to have said the palliatives, which included fixing the failed bridges, clearing of waterways and dredging of the water channels had commenced.
The commissioner said the palliatives were meant to bring temporary relief and succour to the affected residents before permanent solutions would be found.
The statement read in part, “Abudu-Balogun, who described the downpour as massive and with great adverse effects, said engineers from the Works and Infrastructure ministry and staff members of his ministry had assessed the extent of damage done by the flooding and that the report would be useful in finding lasting solutions to the problem.
“The commissioner noted that dredging was currently going on in 16 places across the state, adding that the dredging of the waterway from Isale-Oja to the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library up to the Orange Valley Estate was on-going.
“He said the damage caused by the flood would have been uncontrollable, but for the continuous dredging of waterways.”
He assured residents that the state government would continue to do the needful to find solutions to issues as they come up.
On measures that would bring lasting solutions to the perennial flooding in the state capital, Abudu- Balogun said regular dredging, conversion of some culverts that had outlived their usefulness to bridges and desilting of drainages to allow for a free flow of water whenever it rains were being considered.
He added that though the administration was not interested in demolishing people’s houses, some structures must give way.
“But before we demolish any building, which of course must be as a last resort, we will talk to those whose structures are around the canals on the need to remove them,” he stated.
