The Governor of Ekiti State, Abioudun Oyebanj has debunked reports making the rounds claiming that five persons drowned in flooding in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Oyebanji, represented by his Deputy, Mrs Monisade Afuye, dispelled the reports, on Wednesday, during an assessment of the affected areas in Ado-Ekiti.
While lamenting the level of havoc wreaked by the flood, the Governor vowed that his administration would devise life-saving messure to mitigate destruction of property in areas submerged by water.
“Our people should discountenance that rumour that five people died. Nothing of such happened.
“We have it on good authority that those who fell victim were saved by divers. So, our people shouldn’t panic.
“It was to avoid flooding that this government embarked on aggressive dredging of Ureje and Elemi Rivers early this year.
“We also cleared many drains in Ado-Ekiti. If not for those proactive actions, the wreckage could have been worse and more destructive.
“We sympathise with those that were affected by this flooding. My government won’t abandon them.
“We will take quick steps to address all your issues. We will surely come to your aid because the welfare of the people is paramount,” he said.
Oyebanji admonished the residents against unwholesome practices like arbitrary dumping of refuse inside drains and canals and erection of buildings on waterways, saying these actions are were worsening flooding in the state.
Also corroborating the governor’s statement,
The diver, who rescued the five victims at Ureje Bridge, Chief Kolawole Falajiki, while backing the governor’s statement, clarified that the victims were saved when washed away by water, contrary to reports on social media.
Falajiki, who was among the community leaders in the area that received the entourage, said, “nobody died.
“We ensured that we saved all those that were caught in the web of flooding. Commuters numbering over 800 were trapped here at Ureje bank.
“They were witnesses to my story that nobody died”.
Falajiki alongside spokesmen of Ureje and Eminrin estate, Mr Tayo Olawuyi, Mr Rasheed Akanbi and Mr Shine Salami, commended the state government for dredging the river earlier in the year.
The community leaders said that the havoc would have been more, if not for the well conceived actions of the government
“The only way we can overcome this flooding permanently is for the government to blast the rock that is raising the water level inside Ureje river.
“That was why the water was overflowing the high bridge that connects Ado-Ekiti to Afe Babalola University.
“Another way is that they should use concrete to channel the water downslope. These are the permanent solutions to the challenge”, they said.
NAN reportes that areas ravaged by flooding after over five hours of torrential downpour includes; Ureje bridge on Polytechnic road, Eminrin Estate, Ilupeju avenue, Elemi, Ita Eku, Basiri, among others in Ado-Ekiti.
