Oyan Dam Water Release: Lagos, Ogun Urge Residents To Evacuate
By Trek Africa Newspaper
The Lagos and Ogun state governments have issued warnings to residents in flood-prone areas, particularly those near riverbanks, to relocate or prepare for potential flooding as the Oyan Dam prepares to release excess water.
The Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authority (OORBDA), which manages the dam, will release water as part of its annual effort to control dam levels during the rainy season.
This action has previously caused severe flooding, notably displacing residents in Isheri Riverview Estate, Warewa, and OPIC in the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area.
Trek Africa Newspaper reports that to prevent a repeat of last year’s disaster, the Lagos and Ogun state governments have urged residents of low-lying communities to take precautionary measures, including relocating to higher ground, as the release could cause rivers to overflow and result in significant flooding.
Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, noted that the federal government has begun dredging rivers in the dam’s corridor to prevent devastating floods similar to those witnessed in Maiduguri.
“We’ve warned residents to leave the low-lying areas and are working with Ogun State to mitigate the impact. If they refuse, they’ll have to face the consequences,” Wahab said.
His Ogun State counterpart, Ola Oresanya, confirmed that the dam’s water volume is set to increase, with plans to release over one million gallons to create more space in the reservoir.
However, the OORBDA management reassured residents that the water release would not cause severe flooding. Saliu Adeniyi, Head of Public Relations at OORBDA, emphasized that the dam undergoes regular maintenance, ruling out the possibility of failure.
“We monitor the dam daily, and maintenance is conducted regularly, so there’s no chance of the issues that happened in Maiduguri occurring here,” Adeniyi assured.
He added that while more water may be released if rainfall intensifies, the volume will not be enough to cause flooding downstream.
