A group known as Association of Oyo State indigenes in the United Kingdom has donated relief materials to victims of the August, 2011 flood in Ibadan that devastated several lives and property in the state.

The chairman of the group, Mr Ademola Ala-lade, who led members of the association, in a courtesy visit to the Oyo State governor, repre-sented by the Deputy governor, Mr Moses Alake, on Friday, expressed the asso-ciation’s grief over the incident and concern for the welfare of the victims

“When the news of the incident filtered to us in the UK, many of us were shocked and could not believe the devastation that had been caused by the flood. While we were able to share in the grief, we felt helpless due to distance but we knew we could not fold our hands and do nothing to support, so we eventually decided to donate clothing and other household goods to support victims of the disaster,” he said.

He also advised the state government to take adequate and prompt measures to avoid a recurrence of the incident.

In his address, Mr Alake, while appre-ciating the kind gesture of the association, described the incident as “a mourning period for the state.”

He, however, high-lighted efforts made so far by the state governor and other kind-hearted groups and individuals in assuaging the hardships of the victims and rehabilitating them. He also indentified some steps already taken by the admini-stration to forestall a recurrence, such as the institution of an envi-ronmental sanitation exercise in the state every Thursday and the employment of 20,000 youths to work as environment and road managers.

The deputy governor also lamented activities of residents of the state, such as reckless disposal of wastes in drainages and indiscri-minate granting of licence to individuals to erect structures on waterways, as being responsible for the incident.

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