Oyo State commissioner for environment and water resources, Hon. Kehinde Ayoola, has revealed that if it is necessary to demolish houses to save lives, the present government will not hesitate to do.
Ayoola, who was speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, spoke in a recent interview.
The Oyo-born politicianwho said nobody would be happy to demolish people’s homes, explained that “When there was flash flooding at Olodo, I stood at the top of the bridge, looked down into the gully, and saw buildings along the water course. There were watermarks on those buildings, some of them up to lintel, some were totally submerged.
“That is totally unacceptable. Nobody is happy to demolish people’s building but if that is what we have to do to save lives in those areas, then, we will have to do it. Also, we have sent messages to our colleagues in the town planning department telling them not to give permit to build to people who want to build on floodplains or along water channels. One should not be emotional about it. If a house is blocking flow of water, the house has to go.
