Oyo government begins urban flood control project

As part of measures to reduce incidents of displacements, the Oyo State Government has commenced implementation of the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project in the state.

To this end, authorities have called for expression of interest from experienced consultants to be engaged in the preparation of safeguards instruments for the construction works at the second and third pools of priority sites identified by the Ibadan Drainage Master Plan.

Sources told The Guardian that the State Capital was the major flood-prone area in the state due to the vulnerability of the city to rivers while urban flooding was induced by the city’s peculiar topographic terrain, hence the need for mitigation efforts.

“The government has expressed its unreserved commitment to the full implementation of the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (IUFMP), the state-owned flood risk mitigation project with funding and technical assistance from the World Bank. The state government has received credit financing from the World Bank to support the implementation of the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project”.

The Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (IUFMP) was set up by the Oyo State Government, in response to the devastating flood of August 26, 2011 which claimed about 120 lives and destroyed properties valued at tens of billions of Naira.
It is a multi-sectoral, multi-dimensional, eight-year intervention project designed to confront the hydra-headed menace of flooding in Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State.

The scope of services to be provided under the project include, preparation of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report for Ona Channel, 17 attenuation dikes on upper and Mid Ona catchment, Resettlement Action Plan (RAP report) for Ona Channel and the 17 attenuation dikes on upper and Mid Ona Catchment.

The ESIAs aim to identify and assess the impacts of the proposed works at the interventions on Ona Channel and for the construction of attenuation dikes and to prepare ESIA reports to be implemented in line with World Bank Policy and Nigeria policies and laws.

To prepare the resettlement action plans for displacement impacts associated with construction works on the second and third pools of works in the drainage master paln, the RAP aims to identify and assess the human impact of the proposed works and prepare action plan plan to be implemented in coordination with the civil works in line with World Bank Policy and Nigeria policies and laws.
Already, the rehabilitation of the 77-year-old Eleyele dam in Ibadan has been on schedule while the project would also involve the channelisation of major rivers and water channels in Ibadan under IUFMP scheme and others.