Ekiti State government has approved N88.3 million to facilitate the resumption of dredging across three high-risk Local Government Areas of the state.
The government explained that the dredging would be done in Ado, Ikere and Ekiti South-West Local Government Areas to forestall the incidence of flood and its attendant risk to lives and property.
The approval came less than 24 hours after the Federal Government warned that no fewer than 31 states, excluding Ekiti, were at risk of severe flooding.
The Commissioner for Information, Taiwo Olatunbosun who disclosed this said the approval was part of the decisions reached at the State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Biodun Oyebanji.
He said the state government had proactively commenced the dredging of major river courses in Ado Ekiti in January 2023 before the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) issued flood alerts flagging the state capital as a high-risk zone prone to flooding in the 2023 raining season.
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According to him, unlike the previous exercise, the government has earmarked sufficient funds for the dredging of all-flash points and high-risk flood canals and rivers, especially in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.
According to him, “The dredging project helped to immensely reduce the impact of flooding predicted by NIMET in the state, but unfortunately, the funds released for the project became inadequate due to hyperinflation.
“There was an astronomical increase in prices of diesel, petrol, swamp buggy spare parts, haulage/movement of swamp buggy from one location to another and maintenance cost, which stalled the project.
“The aforementioned changes, coupled with the devaluation of the naira and sharp increase in the exchange rate of dollar to naira, distorted major variables and assumptions upon which the approval of Mr Governor was granted.”
The Commissioner added that the dredging exercise, which will be implemented through direct labour is expected to be completed within three months.
Also, he revealed that the council approved N300 million as compensation for property owners for the proposed urban renewal project at Atikankan/Igbeyin area of Ado Ekiti.
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