Villagers displaced as rainstorm wreaks havoc in Ekiti
Rainstorm wreaked havoc on Omu and Ijelu Ekiti, two neighbouring communities, in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State, blowing off rooftops, destroying the walls of some buildings and dislodging no fewer than 100 residents in the process.
Most affected were churches, educational institutions and residential buildings, including the Palace of the Elejelu of Ijelu Ekiti, Oba Isaac Ajayi Adetoyinbo.
The Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, who expressed sadness over the devastating effect of the stormy rainfall in the town on Sunday, sympathised with the victims, assuring them that the state government would take steps to alleviate their sufferings.
Oyebanji, represented by the Deputy Governor, Mrs Monisade Afuye, who spoke on Tuesday while inspecting the level of damage done to the structures, said that he was elated that nobody died or sustained serious injuries during the rainstorm.
Afuye said, “The governor sympathises with you. This is a sad incident, but the government is still coming for comprehensive assessment and enumeration. We shall surely help you to rebuild what you have lost.
“We thank God that nobody died. But we are still appealing to you to key into our tree-planting policy. Planting trees around your houses will help in controlling storms.
“Our traditional rulers must help in sensitising our people to the need to take some precautionary measures in their council and town meetings by way of encouraging them to plant trees around their houses. This is part of the ways to prevent a disaster of this nature”, Oyebanji counselled.
The Deputy Governor also counselled the residents to undertake some palliative works on their dilapidated buildings, saying some of the structures were already in a decrepit fashion and no longer habitable.
A member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, representing Oye Constituency II, Idowu Odebunmi, urged the victims not to despair, saying, “You all know where Governor Oyebanji stands. He is a man of the people.
He won’t abandon you at this trying time. He has mandated the State Emergency Management Agency to do the enumeration of the affected structures to ascertain the level of the damage and how to help you.
“Over 30 buildings were affected in the two towns with scores of people now rendered homeless”, the lawmaker revealed
The Owajumu of Omu-Ekiti, Oba Adeyeye Ogundeyi, who hailed Oyebanji for the assessment tour, said a total of 22 houses were affected in his domain, with some losing their roofs and their walls destroyed during the stormy rain.
