Besides, he called on the government to pay compensation to all those who lost their properties and loved ones during last week flood in Benin, insisting that the citizens should not be made to carry the burden alone.

He spoke yesterday in Benin while on a sympathy visit to victims of the flood at Arousa and adjoining streets in the state capital.

Oshiomhole who moved from house to house in the  affected area, commiserating with the victims, offered a ray of hope and promised to end the perennial flooding and erosion problems in the area and other parts of Edo State once he takes over the reins of government.

His words: “It is very clear from what we have seen today that this disaster was greatly avoidable. First, we have a drainage system with good facilities which for years has been blocked.

“I would imagine that before Prof. Osunbor started to demarcate roads, he should have realized that the first thing to do was to clean up the drainage system so that when it rains, people could look up to the rains with joys and not with fears.

“I believe that lives that have been lost, the properties that were damaged and destroyed were as a result of the negligence of the state government.

I have seen the conditions under which our people are living and the most hardened guy will weep seeing citizens wallowing in this kind of hopelessness.”

“I believe that the Edo State government has a responsibility to pay compensation to those who have been affected because this is a result of negligence on part of the stat government. And the citizens cannot be allowed to carry the burden on their own.

I believe the government has a duty to provide relief to all those who are affected by this avoidable disaster”.

On what should be done to solve this problem, he called for a compressive and holistic approach to the re-construction and maintenance of the city’s drainage system.

“What Edo State requires now and Benin City in particular is not result to emergency contractors, giving contracts to political associate who knew next to nothing about environmental management”.

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