Residents of Ayetoro Community in oil-rich Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, have staged a protest over a ravaging ocean surge that has rendered 5,000 people homeless and destroyed several public infrastructure.
Led by their traditional ruler the Ogeleyinbo of Ayetoro, Oba Oluwambe Ojagbohunmi, the protesters – including women, children, youths and the aged – bemoaned their abandonment by both Ondo State and the federal governments.
Ayetoro is an oil-rich community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State that has for years
been threatened by incessant ocean surge which has almost submerged the community displacing thousands of residents.
Over 5,000 people are said to have been rendered homeless by the ravaging ocean surge while several critical infrastructure in the community including schools and health centres have also been destroyed.
Children are also not left out of the devastation caused by ocean surges as their schools have had to be relocated several times disrupting learning process and calendar.
Frustrated by the recurring sea incursion which has claimed over 85 per cent of their land and
disrupted fishing activities and processing, the primary economic activity for women, the residents have taken to the streets to register their grievances over government’s neglect.
Bearing placards with different inscriptions, they called for government’s quick intervention stressing that past efforts by the government to address the situation have not yielded any tangible results.
They regretted that oil extraction by multinational corporations and the resulting spills from extractive activities have contaminated their waters with the associated health risks.
Government had in 2003 allegedly awarded a shoreline project contract worth billions of naira to one Gallet Nigeria Limited company to protect the community from the devastating ocean surges and allocated N6.5 billion to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for the construction of a shoreline protective wall in 2006.
The residents say none of the projects has addressed the situation.
They are demanding a massive, fit-for-purpose embankment along the shoreline, a comprehensive audit and urgent probe of the multi-billion naira funds voted for the community’s coastline protection and the immediate return of contractors to site.
Editor : Ena Agbanoma
