Metro

Ekiti govt says four who drowned in Egbe dam not World Bank officials

Published

8 years ago

August 26, 2016

Ekiti State government has said the claim that the four persons that died during the week at Egbe Dam in Gbonyin Local Government Area were World Bank officials, was not true.

The state said this in a statement made available by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ayodele Fayose, Mr Idowu Adelusi on Friday.

The statement reads, “Though the Third Urban Water Sector Reform Project was sponsored by the World Bank, the contract for the bathymetry surveying of the dam was awarded to Enviplan Nigeria Limited.

“The company was to work on Ureje, Egbe, Itapaji and Ero dams. The sad incident happened because some safety measures were not adhered to by the deceased who refused to wear life jackets and those who survived wore life jackets provided by the company. The victims are staff of Enviplan Nigeria Limited which is a consulting firm to the World Bank.”

The statement provided the names of the victims as Alaran Tirimisiyu, Abdulwaheed Alayande, David Malu and Albert, while the survivors are Charles Ehinlaye, Bukky Ajet and Yahaya.

“It should be noted that no World Bank official or Ekiti State Water Corporation staff was involved,” the statement reads, adding that “the Third Urban Water Project commiserate with the families of the departed and pray that God grants them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”

Earlier, different media platforms had reported that the victims were workers on a World Bank assessment mission and Ekiti State government workers. Some even claimed that a son of a World Bank consultant was among the victims.

By Ebere Ndukwu …

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