The Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has offered to help victims of the no fewer than 50 houses destroyed by the rainstorm in some communities on Wednesday evening, leaving many residents homeless.
The communities affected by the rainstorm which damaged residential buildings, shops, and educational institutions are Ipoti, Ejiyan, Owatedo and Odo Owa Ekiti, in the Ijero Local Government Area.
Oyebanji, who visited the affected communities for an on-the-spot assessment on Thursday, sympathised with the victims and promised to initiate a process that would lend a helping hand for them to repair their damaged buildings in record time.
Oyebanji, represented by the Deputy Governor, Mrs Monisade Afuye, during the visit, charged landlords “to always take precautions by repairing damaged roofs and changing weak planks that can predispose their residences to unwarranted wreckage.
“Regular maintenance of old buildings remains the best option to avert annual rainstorms being experienced in some towns, thereby rendering many homeless and scores being sapped economically.
“I am saddened seeing people being homeless as a result of rainstorms. Moving around the town, you could see that the disaster was too much.
“We are promising you, on behalf of the government, that the officers of the State Emergency Management Agency will visit here and do the enumeration of the buildings and value the damage. We are going to help you. God shall heal your wounds.”
He thanked God that there was no loss of lives, noting that “that is our joy in this matter. The ruins are much, but we need rains to make our lives and farming flourish. But we have to do what is necessary to prevent damage to our buildings.”
As part of the ways to mitigate such occurrences, Oyebanji encouraged residents to embrace tree planting around residential areas to serve as windbreakers during stormy rainfall.
He also urged the traditional rulers to propagate tree-planting practices among the people at the grassroots.
The Olupoti of Ipoti Ekiti, Oba Oladipupo Kolade and Oloja-Owa of Owatedo, Oba Adebayo Adewole, described the calamity as heartrending, saying people needed to manage their buildings to resolve such a crisis.
The Olupoti said: “I nearly cried while going round to assess the level of damage. Mostly affected are the women and children, which makes the matter so worrisome.
“I want to appreciate the governor for being proactive in attending to this emergency in record time. The governor has again demonstrated that he is after the welfare of Ekiti people. So, we are expecting the government’s help within a short time to give relief to the victims.”
