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Residents of Asaba Airport View Estate, along Chief Obi Road, have appealed to the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, to urgently intervene in the worsening flood and erosion crisis caused by the abandoned drainage work executed under his administration.
They appealed to the governor to order the contractor to go back to the site immediately to avert the continuous washing of the only access road serving more than 70 buildings, including homes, hotel apartments and other businesses in the area.
In a protest letter by Raphael Aliu, to the Governor, they said the crisis had been aggravated by a drainage system constructed by the state government which channels a huge volume of storm water from Issele-Asagba, Okpanam and other adjoining areas into the residential environment without any outlets to safely discharge it due to the abandoned drainage construction.
They said the situation had dramatically altered the flooding pattern in the area, noting that before the construction of the drainage system, the estate had never experienced flood in such magnitude and destructive intensity.
They maintained that recent flooding has washed away substantial portions of the road, leaving occupants increasingly trapped and exposing buildings to the destructive force of stormwater.
“Before the construction of the drainage system that was channelled into residential areas in the estate, there has never been this level of flooding in history. The present crisis has been aggravated by a drainage intervention, which has not provided a safe outlet for the accumulated water, but has instead, increased the volume and velocity of runoff water into the residential area with destructive effect in hotel businesses. The Governor is not aware that the contractor has compounded the drainage problems which he intended to prevent, so we are drawing the Governor’s attention to this issue now,” they stated.
The residents also pointed to extensive self-help efforts undertaken over time by property owners and business operators, who have spent millions of Naira on filling, drainage works and other temporary measures intended to keep the road open and protect adjoining properties. A director of one of the hotel apartments in the area was said to have personally invested heavily in drainage and other palliative interventions. Yet, according to the residents, each major rainfall continues to reverse those efforts, leaving the apartment owner trapped in a cycle of repair, destruction and renewed expenditure.
The statement, which was also endorsed by a former permanent secretary in the area and signed by various landlords, warned that more than 70 buildings faced the danger of being washed away by erosion and flooding if immediate measures are not put in place as the erosion has continued to dig deep holes in the only major road. “A child and a building had been swept away. The tragedy is, therefore, not that the government is unaware of the danger; but that it is allowing a known danger to mature into a catastrophe.”
The estate’s landlords, however, commended Governor Oborevwori for his infrastructural strides which is a significant feature of his administration, as his government has publicly acknowledged the seriousness of flooding and erosion in Asaba. “A government that is demonstrating capacity for major intervention across the state should also be willing to examine a smaller but potentially devastating flashpoint before it becomes another expensive emergency as resolving this erosion menace will help in restoring business and facilitating commercial activities within the environment,” they said..
