The Ogun State governor has blamed the erosions in the state to activities of those who indiscriminately mine laterite and other natural resources.
Governor Dapo Abiodun stated this when he received members of the House of Representatives Committee on Ecological Fund who paid him a courtesy call in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, on Tuesday.
He urged the members of the committee to impress on the federal agencies in charge of mining to monitor the activities of miners to prevent ecological disasters in the country.
The governor, represented by his deputy, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, assured that his administration is ready to work with the federal government agencies to stop the degradation of the environment.
He said: “I would like to implore you to talk to the respective agencies who monitor mining so that we can work together as prevention is better than cure.
“Yes, there is the issue of climate change, but I think while we are trying to resolve these issues and find ways to improve the lives of the people who are being impacted, we must also at the same time look at the causes of the erosion problem.
“The major cause is organisation; these are all areas that have been impacted because of the effect of infrastructure development right across the state.
“Mining is a big concern that we have here in Ogun State. Mining of laterite and other natural resources where the land is actually opened up and at the end of the day the mining site are not put back into proper condition and that is why when we experience rainfall, erosion starts and we have this kind of very aggressive erosion which causes problems for our people.”
The committee members were in Ogun State to monitor some areas impacted by gully erosion and other natural disasters.
Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Sina Oyedeji, who spoke when he led his members on an on-the-spot inspection of gully erosion sites in Ijebu-Ode, said something must be done urgently to arrest the situation.
Oyedeji, who was conducted round the sites by the Commissioner for the Environment, Ola Oresanya, described the situation in Ijebu Ode as pathetic.
“If we have between three to six sites like this in Ijebu-Ode, what is the size of Ijebu-Ode that we are having something like this? If something is not done on time, the whole of Ijebu-Ode is at risk.
“We have requested from the commissioner and the consultant that they should give us comprehensive information. We need to discuss with the Federal Government, there is a fund for this, and we will try to change the template, ” he said.
Oyedeji further said that the ideal thing to do was to evacuate people living in the area but added that it would not be easy to move people from a place they are familiar with.
They also inspected erosion sites at Isheri, Ifo Local Government Area, Owa, Makalewu, Ikangba, and Isheri.
