Osun State has urged the Federal Government to release its ecological fund for it to curb environmental disaster.
Speaking with reporters at the site of dredging of waterways at Rasco Bridge, Okefia, Osogbo, the Consultant on Urban Planning, Environment and Sanitation, Bola Ilori, appealed to the Federal Government to hasten the release of the fund to save lives and property.
He said: “The state was really shocked at the flooding that recently happened in some parts of Osogbo. We did not expect such level of flooding, considering the efforts that had been put into dredging in the past five years.
“A critical study of the situation showed that the main cause of the problem was the uncoordinated release of water from Asa Dam in Kwara State that subsequently forced Owala Dam to open its gates, which laid the foundation for the eventual flood that our people witnessed.
”We have applied for the ecological fund and it is on record that Osun State has not earned a kobo on ecological fund in the last five to six years since Governor Rauf Aregbesola came on board.
“Yet we have dredged over 270 kilometres of waterway and carted out 4.3 million metric tons of sand and debris in the last six years. Since 2010 up to 2014, the state has been dredging the waterways, but by mid-2015, the dredging became a victim of financial situation.”
According to him, Osun State had expended N2.8 billion on dredging of waterways over the period of five years, lamenting that from last year, the state could not continue dredging because of the financial challenges.
“And even out of the N2.8 billion, we still owe over 35 per cent of the money. We have not been able to pay all the money. The state has serious ecological challenges that deserve urgent support from the Federal Government.