By Promise Adagba
The Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) has called for urgent international intervention to tackle the worsening impact of sea incursion and climate change on riverine communities.
The appeal was made during the 2026 World Environment Day celebration held in Ayetoro, Ilaje Local Government Area, under the theme: “Climate Resilience Action: Mobilizing Urgent Responses to the Ocean Climate Crisis in Ondo State Riverine Communities – Rising Sea Levels Are Swallowing Ilaje: Time for Urgent Climate Action.”
The event, organised by OSOPADEC in collaboration with the Ondo State Ministry of Environment, brought together government officials, traditional rulers and residents from coastal communities including Ayetoro, Ugbo, Mahin and Awoye.
Speaking at the event, OSOPADEC Chairman, Biyi Poroye, said the environmental challenges facing the communities had gone beyond what local resources could address.
“We have gotten to the stage that we can no longer keep deceiving ourselves. Every environmental challenge is here. It is doable, solutions can be given, it is not spiritual, but we need the international community’s attention to help this area,” he said.
Poroye explained that geophysical surveys and baseline studies showed that huge financial resources would be required to reclaim affected communities and protect them from further destruction.
“For example, we are planning a land reclamation for one of the communities in this mandate area. When we look at what it will cost us for just one community, it will cost about ₦94 billion,” he said.
According to him, years of neglect have compounded the problem, making it difficult for government institutions alone to provide the required intervention. “Hence, our calling for the world to come to our rescue and help us to get out of this mess,” he added.
Representing Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Tob Loko, described Ayetoro as one of the most environmentally vulnerable communities in Ondo State and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to finding lasting solutions.
“I won’t speak for previous governments. As we speak today, the government of Ondo State is concerned. We are forward-looking and scouting for how best we can solve this issue so that people living in this area can live peacefully. We have decided to plant trees and pull out dirts from the environment,” Loko stated.
The traditional ruler of Ayetoro, Oluwanbe Ojagbohunmi, said the community had been battling sea incursion for more than two decades, with devastating consequences.
“We have lost 80 per cent of our land. Structures, buildings and schools have been destroyed and relocated,” the monarch lamented, adding that many elderly residents had developed health complications while children and women remained the most traumatised.
Ojagbohunmi identified embankments, shoreline protection infrastructure and land reclamation projects as the most effective solutions to the crisis.
“The solution to Ayetoro sea incursion is first and foremost embankments. These embankments could be using boulders arranged along the coast to stop the waves. After that, the land that has been lost can be reclaimed,” he said.
Appealing for urgent assistance, the monarch said: “The message is that we need help. Save us now.”
Residents also recounted the severe impact of the environmental disaster on their daily lives.
A resident, Mofeoluwa Arowolo, said sea incursion had destroyed nearly all buildings in the community, leaving several families crowded into the few structures still standing.
“This incursion has destroyed nearly 99 per cent of our buildings in this community. We have no shelter again,” Arowolo said, adding that the disaster had worsened health challenges, disrupted children’s education and crippled economic activities in the fishing settlement.
Another resident, Thompson Akinloye, said repeated displacement had drained residents financially. “We no longer have money in our account because we have to keep spending money on relocation anytime the incursion happens. We are pleading to the world to come to our rescue,” he said.