Following the recent alert by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) warning Nigerians of imminent flooding, many state governments are now putting in place measures to protect lives and properties.
The NIHSA, the agency responsible for issuing flood alerts in Nigeria, had accused state governments of failing to heed its previous warnings on floods released earlier this year.
But investigation by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) indicates a new resolve by states in the South-west zone to address more frontally the challenge of flooding and the annual loss of lives and properties.
In Oyo State, the establishment of the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (IUFMP) is helping to address flooding, especially in Ibadan which has many flood planes.
NAN reports that the state had not witnessed any serious incident of flooding in any part of the state since the commencement of the current rainy season.
Jonathan Adekunle, an official of the State Ministry of Environment, attributed the development to the proactive initiatives taken by the state government.
He said the ready support of the state government in the implementation of IUFMP and other ongoing intervention projects in the state was having positive impacts and making the state flood-free.
