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On Friday, March 3, a torrential downpour in Oke-Ako, Ikole Local Government Area, Ekiti State, destroyed over 105 structures and left several people homeless.
The downpour, which started at 3 o’clock and left inhabitants completely without electricity, also damaged the town’s energy facilities.
The event was quite destructive, according to Monisade Afuye, the state’s deputy governor, who visited the devastated area on Saturday, March 4.
In a statement he issued on Saturday, the Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor for Media, Victor Ogunje, reported the Governor as expressing relief that no one was killed in the severe storm.
The statement read;
“On behalf of his Excellency, Governor Biodun Oyebanji, I sympathize with you on the destruction caused by rainstorm to many residential buildings and electricity poles in this town , which we believe must have affected the wellbeing of the victims. Information at our disposal and on- the- spot assessment revealed that roofs of scores of residential buildings and electricity facilities were destroyed during the stormy rainfall, thereby rendering many homeless and helpless. We sympathise with the victims at this trying times and plead for calmness, in the sense that natural disaster of this nature is one occurrence that is difficult to control. But with personal precautions and right efforts, its effects can be minimised.
That was why the Governor Oyebanji’s administration is ready to support interested individuals to go into tree planting and the programmes will soon be rolled out to safeguard our environment and minimise havocs being wreaked on our buildings by rainstorm. Tree planting is very essential. I observed that landlords here are not planting trees, I am not seeing them standing beside our houses. Let us inculcate the habit of tree planting to serve as wind breakers against storm.
Let me also assure you that the state government won’t abandon you and allow you to regret in this current devastating conditions. We shall give all the necessary support to mitigate whatever effect this situation must have caused to your lives”.
