Flood Alert: Ogun Warns Residents in Akute, Isheri, Magboro, Others of Possible River Overflow

The Ogun State Government has advised residents living along riverbanks and wetlands in parts of the state to prepare for a possible overflow of the Ogun River between October 20 and November 3.

The warning affects communities in Akute, Alagbole, Isheri, Magboro, Makogi, Orimerunmu, Iro, Kajola, and parts of Abeokuta including Lafenwa, Enugada, Adedotun, Iberekodo, Akin-Olugbade, and Ago-Odo.

According to the state government, the latest advisory is part of its ongoing efforts to mitigate flooding and its attendant effects through periodic flood alerts — the third issued this year.

In the statement released by the Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, the expected overflow of the Ogun River would result from the controlled release of water from the Oyan Dam following heavy rainfall in northern parts of the country.

Oresanya explained that the surge in water volume reaching the dam “would be compounded by increase in tidal level.” He added that the increased inflow “would inevitably forced the release of water from the dam that would affect the areas,” urging residents to exercise caution and prevent loss of lives and property within the period.

The commissioner emphasised the need for residents “to avoid the riverbank while those in the wetlands should move to higher grounds or elevate their stay for now as the overflow becomes inevitable.”

He noted that as part of the state’s flood mitigation plan, “the Ogun State Government had continuously dredged and opened up more tributaries for Ogun River to ease the pressure of the overflow on residents in collaboration with the Ogun Osun River Basin Authority—owners of Oyan Dam who have continually ensured a controlled release of water from the dam throughout the year.”

Oresanya also highlighted the difference in water discharge levels compared to the previous year. “At this period last year, the volume of water released from the dam was over 17,000 million litres per day as against over 12,000 million litres per day at this period despite the heavy rainfall,” he said, describing it as evidence of “painstaking efforts at controlled release of water from the dam this year.”

He urged residents not to panic, assuring that “the tide will go down in about ten days as the mitigating measures from the state government cannot stop the activities of nature as the impact of climate change is felt more by the state as one of the coastal states in Nigeria.”

The commissioner further noted that Ogun State serves as a “gateway or an outlet to empty the waterflow from Northern part of the country into the lagoon.”

Oresanya also appealed to fish farmers in the affected areas “to harvest their fish if they have not done so in order to avoid inevitable losses.”