15th March, 2021
The Ekiti government has pledged to assist victims of a rainstorm that displaced about 1,000 residents and fire incident that ravaged about 20 hectares of cocoa and kolanut plantations in the state.
The Chairman, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), retired Capt. Sunday Adebomi, said this on Sunday after a visit to Erinmope Ekiti and Isan Ekiti, the two communities where the disasters happened.
Adebomi said that more than 200 houses were destroyed by the Friday rainstorm resulting in the displacement of about 1,000 residents in Erinmope Ekiti, Moba Local Government Area.
According to him, not less than 20 hectares of cocoa and kolanut plantations were also gutted by a midnight inferno on Saturday in Isan-Ekiti, in Oye Local Government Area.
Adebomi said that the state had not witnessed such a magnitude of the rain disaster that destroyed schools and places of worship among others in history at once.
While expressing the state Governor Kayode Fayemi’s concern over the disasters, he described the incident as “novel in the history of the community and the entire state.
“The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, was particularly happy that no life was lost in the storm, which affected about 200 houses in this town. Over 1,000 residents have now been displaced already.
“We are here to assess the level of destruction by the storm which was a mystery.
“The present administration in Ekiti State under the leadership of Dr Fayemi would do everything within its capacity to ameliorate the plights of the victims,” he said.
Mr Oladipo Isaac, a community leader and a victim, called for urgent government action, saying that more than 200 buildings were affected by the rainstorm which rendered many homeless.
“As you can see many houses including schools and churches have been blown off.
“We appeal to the government and public-spirited individuals to come to the aid of our community.
“This kind of magnitude of a disaster is happening for the first time since I was born 75 years ago in this community,” he said.
On the fire incident in the governor’s hometown, the SEMA boss, who also visited the ravaged farm sites located on Ipere-Ekiti road, described the fire disaster as unfortunate.
He said that the government was making efforts to compile the names of affected farmers and see how they could be assisted speedily to be able to cope with the coming farming season.
Chief Ray Akin-Oguntosin, one of the leaders in the community, said the fire affected cocoa, kolanut, orange and coffee plantations and had rendered farmers in the town jobless.
“We appeal to both the Federal and Ekiti State governments to come to the aid of the community over the disaster, such move would bring succour to the victims,” he said.