AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
Hope returned to the flood-ravaged coastal community of Ayetoro in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State on Monday, July 13, 2026, as the Ecumenism for Development and Peace Initiative (EDAPI) provided emergency relief materials to residents displaced by devastating ocean surges.
The intervention by EDAPI, a non-governmental organisation of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC) and a member of the Action by Churches Together (ACT Alliance), included unconditional cash transfers of ₦80,000 each to 250 food-insecure households, alongside the distribution of Non-Food Items (NFIs) and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) kits to help affected families meet their immediate needs.
In addition, 100 residents benefited from a Psychosocial Support and Trauma Healing Programme aimed at helping victims cope with the emotional trauma of losing their homes, livelihoods and ancestral lands.
The organisation said its rapid humanitarian response was designed not only to meet the immediate survival needs of affected residents but also to restore hope and dignity to a community battling an existential threat.
Ayetoro, a historic coastal town, has witnessed severe devastation from rising sea levels and the impact of decades of coastal erosion, reportedly worsened by oil exploration activities. More than 2,000 residents have been displaced, while an estimated 80 per cent of the community’s landmass has already been swallowed by the Atlantic Ocean.
Speaking at the flag-off of the intervention, President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, Rev. Dr. Israel Adelani Akanji, urged the government to respond urgently to the plight of the Ayetoro people.
Also speaking, the Director of Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations of the Nigerian Baptist Convention and Coordinating Director of EDAPI, Rev. Dr. Testimony Onifade, said the organisation was committed to supporting vulnerable residents affected by the flooding.
“EDAPI is here to provide relief items and support for the vulnerable, but the government has the primary responsibility of saving Ayetoro,” he said.
The intervention was commended by the traditional ruler of Ayetoro, Oba Oluwambe Ojagbohunmi, the Ogeleyinbo of Ayetoro Land, as well as other community leaders who expressed appreciation for the support.
However, they stressed that while humanitarian assistance offers temporary relief, it cannot address the underlying environmental crisis threatening the community’s existence.
The monarch, alongside other stakeholders, made a passionate appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Federal Government to urgently intervene by providing permanent shoreline protection to halt the advancing coastal erosion.
They also called for a thorough investigation into allegations surrounding previous shoreline protection contracts awarded for Ayetoro, insisting that the survival of the community is beyond the financial capacity of the Ondo State Government.
“We cannot continue to watch our heritage, our homes and our future slip into the ocean. We need urgent Federal Government intervention to save Ayetoro from total extinction,” Oba Ojagbohunmi appealed.
