The Lagos and Ogun state governments have issued warnings to residents living in flood-prone areas, particularly along riverbanks, to temporarily relocate or brace for potential flooding ahead of the planned release of water from the Oyan dam.
The release of excess water from the dam, managed by the Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authority, OORBDA is part of an annual process to manage dam levels during the rainy season.
Recall that residents of Isheri Riverview estate and other residential surroundings in Warewa and OPIC in Obafemi Owode Local government area were last year sacked by flooding following a water surge induced by the release of excess water from the dam.
To avoid a repeat of this, both the Lagos and Ogun state governments have advised communities in low-lying areas to take necessary precautions, including relocating to safer ground, as the release could cause rivers to overflow, leading to severe flooding.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab told Saturday PUNCH that, the Federal had commenced the dredging of rivers along the corridor of the dam to avoid devastating flooding incidents such as the one that occurred in Maiduguri.
“We have done the advocacy, we have told people to leave the low line areas. We are collaborating with the Ogun state government on how we can mitigate the impact of the release.
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“Those staying on the low line areas have to leave, particularly those at Ajilete and other areas around Owode-Onirin because we saw what happened in Maiduguri, it will be child’s play.
“We will keep appealing to them to leave the low line areas, but if they refuse to leave, they have to bear the consequences”, Wahab said.
His Ogun State counterpart, Ola Oresanya said the dam was planning to increase the volume of water from over one million gallons to create more space in the reservoir.
But the management of OORBDA has allayed the fear of residents, assuring that the release of water from the dam will not lead to flooding incidents.
The Head of the Public Relations department of OORBDA, Saliu Adeniyi who spoke to Saturday PUNCH ruled out the possibility of dam failure, saying the dam has been undergoing periodic maintenance.
“Definitely we will not have the Maiduguri issue happening here in Oyan dam because we have our project manager and other staff monitoring the status of the dam every day and due maintenance is being done at the dam, so such a thing will never occur here.
“If the rain increases we will also increase the volume of water being released, but it is not going to be that voluminous to create flood in downstream”, Adeniyi said.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
