Flooding: Akeredolu orders closure of public schools in prone Ondo communities

Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo state, has ordered the closure of public schools in flood-prone communities.

In a statement released on Friday, Donald Ojogo, commissioner for information and orientation, said the schools are to embark on a three-week holiday starting from Monday, October 14.

He noted that the closure will affect public primary and secondary schools in the state.

The commissioner said the governor declared the emergency holiday due to the massive flood affecting some parts of the state.

Riverine communities in Ilaje and Ese-Odo local government areas of the state have been submerged in flood with properties and valuables destroyed.

Igbotu, where the governor’s mother hails from, is among the communities affected by flooding.

Ojogo said the closure will prevent incidents that may further affect “lives of vulnerable pupils in those areas as a result of the floods”.

The commissioner directed headteachers and principals in the affected schools to ensure that all perishable educational materials are evacuated to prevent the destruction of valuables.

On Monday, Doyinsola Boluwaji, a final-year student of the department of Religious and African Studies at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, was swept away by flood following a downpour in the evening.

The management of the university said the body of the female student of the institution was yet to be recovered.