Over 20 Farmers Hospitalized In Ogun After Losing N500m To Flooding

After losing over N500 million of their investment, a group of farmers in Ogun State have appealed to the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, to immediately help them fix water drainages leading to floods in their local communities.

Reports obtained by Naija News on Friday morning claimed that at least twenty out of the fish farmers in the state were hospitalised last week due to shock after heavy flood swept away their ponds.

The aggrieved farmers reportedly stormed the Governor’s Office in Abeokuta, on Thursday, July 21, seeking government’s intervention.

It was reported that heavy flooding on July 8 swept away fish ponds of about 200 farmers and destroyed other property worth N500 million.

The incident caused a shock among the farmers and over twenty of them were immediately hospitalized.

Due to the event, colleagues of the affected farmers begged the state government to help them dredge the Yemule stream to make it wide and deep enough to accommodate the volume of water that is coming from the construction sites.

The victims according to reports spread across five fish farmers’ clusters of Ifeoluwa, Asejere, Progressive, Joye and Kajola.

Speaking on behalf of the farmers, Eko Nicholas blamed the disaster on lack of dredging of Yemule river and improper channelling of drainages along the ‘deplorable’ Ikangba/Agoro road.

According to him, the farmers are always disturbed when it rained, knowing that water will spill over the Yemule river’s bound into the fish farms.

Nicholas said more than 20 farmers were just discharged from the hospital due to shock they suffered over the loss.

On their demands, he said, “We are calling on the governor to as a matter of necessity to help us dredge Yemule stream to make it wide and deep enough to accommodate the volume of water that is coming from the construction sites. With that, the water would not overflow its bound.

“Also, the Ikangba/Agoro road otherwise known as old Lagos road, has been a nightmare to the residents and it also contribute to the flood due to lack of drainage and proper channelling. We are also begging the governor to help us fix the road.

“Most importantly, the governor should assist us by granting us a soft loan to help us stand on our feet again. As I speak, over 20 of our members just left hospitals yesterday and day before yesterday. They are just recuperating from the shock suffered as a result of the disaster.”

Responding to the incident, the General Manager of the State Agricultural Development Corporation, Bolu Owootomo, assured that the government would address their demands as soon as possible.

He said as a responsible government, Governor Dapo Abiodun’s administration would not fold its arms while citizens lose huge investment to flood disaster.