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OCEAN SURGE DISASTER: 20 ILAJE COMMUNITIES THREATEN 2027 ELECTION BOYCOTT OVER GOVT NEGLECT
Demand Shoreline Protection, Emergency Intervention
By prince Benson Davies
Twenty coastal communities in the oil-producing area of Ilaje Local Government, Ondo State, have issued a warning to the Federal and State governments: intervene now to stop ocean surge, or lose their votes in 2027.
The communities made the declaration during a protest to the Ilaje Local Government headquarters in Igbokoda. They said the Atlantic Ocean has advanced dangerously into their settlements, destroying homes and livelihoods while government responses have remained slow.
Under the banner of the Coalition of Ilaje Ravaged Communities, and with advocacy support from Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA, the residents first held a press conference in Ayetoro last Wednesday. Ayetoro is the worst-hit community. The next day, hundreds marched in Igbokoda to press their demands.
The communities listed are Ayetoro, Awoye, Mese, Gbagira, Jiringho, Ilowo, Ilepete, Idiogba, Oroto, Alagbon, Erunona, Olotu, Yaye, Womitenren, Ogboti, Lepe, Ehinmore, Abetobo, Odun-Oyinbo, and Abereke.
According to them, the situation has become a humanitarian emergency. The ocean surge has destroyed hundreds of homes, schools, churches, mosques, health centers, fishing grounds, and factories. Farmlands and roads have also been washed away.
Ayetoro, once a wealthy settlement that reportedly loaned money to the old Western Region Government, has borne the brunt. Community leaders say 85 percent of Ayetoro has been lost to erosion and rising sea levels. Only about 7 of its 45 streets remain. Other communities are following the same path as the shoreline recedes each year.
The monarch of Ayetoro, Oba Olorumbe Ojagbohunmi, described 20 years of unrelenting encroachment.
“For 10 years now, we have been losing at least 50 buildings every year to the ocean surge. My people have become refugees in their own town,” he said.
He recalled that in April this year, floodwaters destroyed the road leading to the palace and trapped his family inside for a week. He also accused the government of awarding multibillion-naira shoreline protection contracts that were never executed, even as oil continues to be extracted from areas that once belonged to community families.
Beyond long-term solutions, the communities are asking for immediate relief. They want food, clean water, medicines, and temporary shelters for displaced families.
Their core demands include the construction of sea walls, groynes, and other shoreline protection infrastructure. They are also asking the Federal Government to declare the Ilaje coastline a national disaster zone and release emergency funds. In addition, they want the Ondo State Government to sign a memorandum of understanding with them and publish a 90-day action plan within 30 days of receiving their demands.
The coalition’s slogan was clear: “No project, no vote.”
They warned politicians and parties that coastal support can no longer be taken for granted. The group stressed that a boycott would not be a rejection of democracy, but a demand for accountability.
Comrade Akingboye Thompson, General Coordinator of the coalition, said the crisis has turned residents into “climate refugees in their own country.” He noted that fishermen have lost access to traditional waters, while poor drainage is also flooding Igbokoda, the council headquarters. The group is calling for a modern drainage network in Igbokoda to address annual flooding.
CAPPA’s Associate Director, Ogunlade Olamide, framed the demand as one of climate and environmental justice.
“Communities that have borne the environmental and social costs of reckless resource extraction cannot continue to be met with silence and inaction. Their call is not for charity, but a demand for justice, fairness, accountability and reparation,” he said.
The communities said they contribute significantly to Ondo State’s oil-producing status, yet receive little protection in return.
“You cannot take 75 per cent of our resources and give us zero per cent protection,” the statement read.
They are urging the Federal Government, Ondo State Government, Ilaje LGA, and relevant agencies to treat the matter as an emergency before more communities disappear into the sea.
