BY JERRY OMOKRI/OYE CHIJIOKE/PAUL EGEDE/AMBROSE OLOGIDE
The Delta State Government is not taking any chances in protecting its citizens from the impending floods, as predicted by several federal government agencies.
One such prediction is from the Federal Ministry of Environment, which warned 14 states, all in the north, to prepare for another round of heavy rains and flooding this August.
In the same vein, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had said a total of 140,228 people in 21 states have been affected by floods so far in 2025, calling for precautions.
Thus, the Delta State Government has proceeded to de-silt drainages and clear waterways across urban centres and flood-prone areas in the state. This is in addition to other flood control measures, including the construction of storm drainage across the state.
Addressing journalists in Asaba, the Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, said the state government has commenced de-silting water channels to mitigate the effects of the predicted floods and allow for free flow of water during the predicted rains.
‘’We appeal to our people to see the need not to continue silting the drains by dumping refuse into water channels. We are also asking our brothers and sisters who live in flood-prone areas to be mindful of their movements and to also take some advice because the government cannot be everywhere at the same time.
‘’Once they see the floods approaching, they should relocate to higher ground. We do not wish to have any casualties; we do not pray for it, but these are natural forces that are far above what we can handle in terms of mitigating their effects.
‘’But what we can do is to speak to our people, even as we continue to clear the water channels to pave the way for the free flow of water,’’ the state’s spokesman said.
On the demolition of structures built on waterways, the works and information commissioner said the state government will not renege on its resolve, irrespective of whose ox is gored. ‘’You recall when we demolished several structures along the Anwai axis? Those buildings were not owned by small children.
‘’In the course of time, we have also had cause to take down some houses along waterways in Warri. We didn’t ask who owns those houses. Do not forget that some of those structures we brought down because we believe that they are constituting a nuisance do not belong to those in the low-income bracket.
‘’Currently, we are doing massive de-silting of drains. If you go to the Anwai River in Asaba, you will see what we have done in clearing the waterways so that every water flowing from the various tributaries, either from the Mariam Babangida corridor or through the Ralph Uwaechue Road or through any other place, can flow to the Niger.
‘’We are also doing massive sensitisation to tell our people not to silt the drains because when you dump refuse in the drains, believing that the rains will carry it away, it will lead to lateritic siltation. When this happens, you undermine the carrying capacity of that drain, and the tendency is that the water in that drain will overflow its banks’’ Aniagwu said.
In an earlier interview with The Pointer, the Commissioner for Environment, Ejiro Jamani, said the state government, through collaborating Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) had demolished structures on waterways, even as he called on Deltans to take ownership of their environments.
According to him, ‘’during his electioneering campaign, Governor Oborevwori came out with his manifesto; the MORE Agenda. Under this agenda, the first component is Meaningful development and under this component is Environmental Sustainability. The Governor promised Deltans that he would sustain the environment, and that is his policy thrust: sustainability of the environment.
‘’You are very aware that Delta is a coastal state and the Governor is a promise-keeper. Once he (Oborevwori) makes a promise, he sustains his promise. In his manifesto, he promised environmental sustainability, and he is doing everything humanly possible to achieve a clean, green and more sustainable environment.
‘’Before the rain comes every year, we open water channels, we clear drains, most especially in the floodplain areas. We open up the water channels. For instance, Asaba is a flood plain, and so what we do is to clear all the drains for free flow of water.
‘’After clearing the drains, we go to the Iyi-Abi area to open the water channel so that the water can move freely. We also de-silt the Anwai River so that it can accommodate more water, and we open the entire stretch from the Camp 74 axis so that there can be a free flow of water to the River Niger’’ Jamani said.
‘’We have collaborated with the local governments, and the chairmen are doing well; they are trying, mostly the chairmen in the urban local governments. The rural local governments are also doing very well in sustaining the environment.
‘’If you go to Warri South, the Chairman is environmentally friendly and he is doing very well. He is conserving the environment through tree-planting, beautification and opening of water channels, among other initiatives.
‘’Other chairmen are also doing well. The Chairman of Uvwie Local Government is also doing very well. Before, people dumped their waste on the road at the market, but things have changed.
‘’In Sapele, the local government chairman has cleared all illegal dumpsites and employed people to sweep the roads. These are commendable efforts. The chairmen are doing very well; Ethiope East, Ethiope West, and Isoko are all trying. But we encourage them to do more.
‘’I want to beg Deltans to take their environment as their personal property. The clothes you are putting on are your personal property, and you would not want anything to happen to them because you spent your money to get them. So, Deltans should own the environment the way we own our properties. We have only one Earth, and it is the environment. If we destroy the environment, we won’t have another place to go’’ he said.
Following the predicted increase in rainfall, residents and business owners in flood-prone areas have taken extra steps to avert the kind of flooding that occurred earlier this year in Agbor during a heavy downpour.
Mrs Stella Egbon, a business owner whose shop is situated along the ever busy Old Lagos/Asaba Road, Agbor while speaking with our correspondent said she is more conscious of the fact that it is raining more in this August as a result, she is eager to pack in her goods as soon as it starts raining to avoid loses of goods to flooding.
Mrs Egbon maintained that residents in the area observe sanitation exercises every morning to see that the drainage system is cleared for free flow of water to the Orogodo River.
She commended the state government for sending the warning signals early enough to help them make adequate preparation to ensure that the sad experience of flooding that occurred earlier this year along the Old Lagos/ Asaba Road in Agbor, where goods worth millions of naira were damaged and some taken to the Orogodo river, is not repeated.
Similarly, some residents in Agbor Obi have applauded the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Agency (DESOPADEC) for the proactive measures taken to ensure that flooding is averted by cleaning up both side drainages along the major Obi Ikechukwu Road and other adjoining streets earlier this month.
They said that this level of preparedness from the government to educate and inform the residents of predicted flooding and to take bold steps to mitigate its occurrence is commendable and should be encouraged.
Mr Mike Okafor, a resident of Agbor Obi, noted that the government has done its part through the office of DESOPADEC to enhance the safety of the residents and their properties from the predicted flooding as a result of increased rainfall. He therefore urged everyone living or doing business in the area to take full responsibility to ensure that no one is allowed to dump refuse into the drainage system to avoid blockage.
Meanwhile, DESOPADEC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, extended its ongoing de-silting exercise to Effurun GRA in Uvwie Local Government Area.
The initiative, which is part of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s proactive measures against flooding, is aimed at mitigating the impact of the impending rainy season and bringing relief to residents in flood-prone communities across the state.
Residents of Effurun GRA expressed gratitude to DESOPADEC and the state government, noting that the yearly clearing of drains has significantly reduced flooding in the area.
Mr. Peter Eteme, a resident, praised the intervention but urged residents to take responsibility by keeping their surroundings clean. “The yearly clearing of drains around this GRA has helped us a lot. Water used to gather in front of the Catholic Church and other areas after slight rainfall. However, we must also ensure drains remain free of debris to sustain these efforts,” he said.
However, our correspondents reported that, despite the warning from the federal government over the predicted increased rainfall, some communities have yet to take preventive measures to mitigate or avert flooding.
In the Agbarho community, President-General Mr. Kevwe Edoga disclosed that there has been no official notice or directive from relevant authorities regarding the rainfall warning (as at the time of this report).
He said, “I have not heard anything about the warning,” noting that no other steps have been taken to address potential flooding.
Similarly, the President-General of Ughelli Descendants Union (UDU), Chief Samuel Akpemegi, disclosed that no formal notice about the predicted flooding had been received. “The preventive measures that have been put in place, I don’t know, but during previous flood incidents in Ughelli North, affected residents were accommodated in schools and churches. But no current plans had been outlined for this year.”
The President-General of Uvwie General Improvement Union (UGIU), Effurun Uvwie Local Government Area, Chief Abovi Erute, said that he will disseminate the warning to the various community leadership in the kingdom for them to do the same to the grassroots and to urge them to ensure that residents do not dispose of refuse into gutters and to always clear their drains and gutters.
The Chairman of Otovwodo (Agbassa) Community Warri in Warri South Local Government Area, Comrade Onoriode Onogun, disclosed that the community is working in collaboration with the Delta State Ministry of Environment in clearing gutters in the area, as he expressed optimism that this will go a long way in preventing flooding in the area.
Also, the President-General of Igbudu Market Traders Association, Warri, Warri South Local Government Area, Comrade Brume Kugbere, commended Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for the clearing of the canal at the southern end of the market. He expressed hope that this would solve the perennial flooding of the market in that direction and its environs. Kugbere also said that he would encourage traders to key into the Delta State Government’s environmental sanitation plans to prevent flooding in the market.
The President-General of Igbudu Market Traders Association had earlier disclosed that the market is shut down every Thursday between 7 am and 10 am for environmental sanitation exercise.
In Aniocha North Local Government Area, the Local Government Chairman, Hon. Emma Chinye, has put measures in place to checkmate its havoc, urging residents to clean up the existing drainages, open up waterways and avoid dumping waste indiscriminately, which may lead to blockage.
Also, some councillors in the area have engaged the services of labourers to clean up drainages along the Afor Market road, Ishiekpe quarters, Idumuine, Ogboli-Iko road and some other parts of Issele-Uku, the local government headquarters.
While fielding questions from our correspondent, Mrs Josephine Ukadike, a resident in the Ishiekpe quarters, commended the state government for constructing a storm control drainage to accommodate the volume of flood coming down from St Paul’s Cathedral through Air Marshal Dike road and along the NYSC Orientation Camp road.
Mrs Ukadike said that despite all these infrastructures on the ground, flooding had caused lots of havoc to the area, adding that ‘’the Iyinta Stream at the back of Ishiekpe quarters needs serious dredging so that its volume could contain the pressure of water flowing down there’’.
She called on the government to dredge the axis and ensure that drainages within the metropolis flow directly to Iyinta, adding that residents on their own should endeavour to dump waste in designated places.
In another development, rural communities within Aniocha North are not left out. Ukwunzu, Obomkpa, Ugboba, Ubilubu, Orgodo, Ezi and Aniofu also experience flooding triggered by heavy rainfall, and it is causing heavy gully erosion, threatening to tear the communities apart.
Okafor Clement, a resident in Ugboba, called for expedited actions in fulfilling their promises to cushion the effects of flooding and control erosion emanated from flooding during the rainy season.
Okafor said that the area is prone to flooding, but the government had tried to put up storm control drainage and channel the water to River Ohe, adding that the structures need maintenance and sustenance because the pressure of water in the area is heavy.
He called on the state government to intervene and ensure that their rural communities were safe from heavy rain flooding and the threat posed by erosion ravaging the people, pleading that residents should stop dumping waste in the drainage to avert blocking.
