EXCAVATIONS: LANDSLIDE IMMINENT IN EKITI

Residents of Oke Alaafia, Akese in Adebayo area of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, have expressed fear of tsunami erosion and likely landslide due to illegal activities of quarry companies and tippers operators in the area.

The hilly area was being indiscriminately excavated by construction companies and tipper owners to sand fill their different construction sites within and outside the state capital.

The hill now stands dangerously in such a way that it could collapse and be washed away into the nearby houses at the instance of slight downpour. According to one of the residents, the invaders didn't budge when the people of the community accosted them to draw their attention to the risk in the activities:

'They didn't stop working when we approached them that the way they were digging the place could lead to landslide or expose our homes to serious erosion. We had to go to the Ministry of the Environment to report them. We thank God, the commissioner came almost immediately to see the site himself and warned them to stop their operation.'

The Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Segun Olanrewaju, expressed fear that the eco-fragility of the area could cause erosion and landslide if excavation continued in the area. This, according to him, made him order immediate stoppage of the activities on the site.

He condemned the members of Tipper Owners Association who were involved in the excavation of the hill, describing them as selfish and self-centered by making the area prone to erosion and other natural disasters.

He, however, warned that the state government would not hesitate to shut down any quarry or mining sites that exposed the environment to disaster.