The Ogun State Government has issued an evacuation notice to residents of flood-prone communities across the state, urging them to vacate immediately and relocate to safer areas as water levels around major rivers continue to rise.
Communities identified as being at high risk include those along the Ilo, Iju, Owa, and Yemule rivers, such as Isheri, Warewa, Akute, parts of Abeokuta, Ayetoro, Itele, and Iju, as well as coastal settlements like Makun, Oni, Iwopin, Igele, Ifaara (Ogun Waterside), Ebute-Imobi (Ijebu East), Tungeji Island, and Agosasa in Ipokia Local Government Area.
In the 2025 Ogun State Midterm Flood Alert released yesterday and signed by the Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, residents of these affected communities were advised to relocate to safer areas between the last week of September and the second week of October.
According to the commissioner, the relocation is necessary due to the anticipated overflow from rivers and rising sea levels, including tidal lock, resulting from high rainfall and increased water flow from the northern parts of the country and neighboring countries like Benin into the Ogun and Lagos downstream areas.
Oresanya added that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) has predicted that September will record the highest rainfall at 204mm, followed by October at 190mm, while rainfall intensity is expected to drop to 93mm in November.
He also assured residents that the state government, through its State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), is on red alert in case of any emergency evacuation.
Temporary emergency camps have been established across the state, and the Ministry of Environment is working closely with the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority to manage water releases from the Oyan Dam in order to minimize the risk and impact of flooding.
