Posted on June 26, 2018
In a bid to curb the ongoing flood in Oyo State, the governor of the state, Abiola Ajimobi has moved for the dredging of about 64 streams in the state capital, Ibadan.
This was made known via a statement which was signed by the State’s Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Chief Isaac Ishola.
NIGERIA NEWS gathered from reports that the dredging will be carried out in conjunction with the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project.
According to Ishola, “the Project Implementation Unit safeguard team would be displaying Environmental and Social Management Plan for dredging of streams and clearing of blocked drains.”
“The effort to be undertaken in line with the Safeguard requirement of IUFMP sub-projects is to sensitise the general public on the social and environmental impact of the project,” he said.
He added that, “the ESMP action would mitigate the negative impact of the project as stipulated by the guidelines of World Bank Projects.”
The commissioner added that “there would be updates on Environment and Social Impact Assessment for Eleyele Dam rehabilitation to ensure the project matched best practices without any hazard to the society.”
The 64 streams to be dredged are within the 11 Local Government Development Areas in the State.
The commissioner also advised residents that they should avoid disposing waste into water channels, rivers and streams.
In his words, “government had taken steps to prevent flooding in the state, noting that citizens needed to complement government’s efforts by restraining from activities that could block waterways and drains.”
“The government had continuously sensitised the public on environmental sanitation in addition to the expansion and dredging of some rivers in the state to ensure free flow of water.”
Source: NigeriaNews.NET
