Twenty coastal communities in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State have threatened to boycott the 2027 general elections if the Federal and Ondo State governments fail to act against the ocean surge destroying their homes and livelihoods.
The communities made the threat after a peaceful protest at the Ilaje Local Government headquarters in Igbokoda, where they called for urgent measures to protect the coastline.
They demanded the construction of sea walls, groynes and other shoreline protection structures, as well as immediate humanitarian assistance for residents affected by the ocean surge and flooding.
The affected communities, under the Coalition of Ilaje Ravaged Communities, held a press conference in Ayetoro last Wednesday before staging a protest in Igbokoda the following day.
The protest was supported by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA).
The communities said the Atlantic Ocean had swallowed large parts of their settlements, destroying hundreds of homes, schools, places of worship, health facilities, fishing grounds, factories and other infrastructure.
The affected communities are Ayetoro, Awoye, Mese, Gbagira, Jiringho, Ilowo, Ilepete, Idiogba, Oroto, Alagbon, Erunona, Olotu, Yaye, Womitenren, Ogboti, Lepe, Ehinmore, Abetobo, Odun-Oyinbo and Abereke.
They described the situation as a humanitarian emergency and demanded food, potable water, medicines and temporary shelters for families displaced by the flooding and ocean surge.
The communities also urged the Federal Government to declare the Ilaje coastline a national disaster zone and release emergency funds to address the crisis.
They called on the Ondo State Government to sign a memorandum of understanding with the communities and publish a 90-day action plan within 30 days of receiving their demands.
“No project, no vote,” the coalition declared, warning political parties and aspirants that they would no longer take the support of coastal communities for granted.
The protesters said the proposed election boycott was not a rejection of democracy, but a demand for accountability from politicians seeking their votes.
Ayetoro Loses 85% of Community
The communities said Ayetoro, once a prosperous settlement that reportedly loaned money to Nigeria’s Western Region Government, had become the most visible example of the destruction caused by the advancing sea.
According to the coalition, 85 per cent of Ayetoro has been lost to coastal erosion and ocean surge, while other communities are facing a similar threat.
The monarch of Ayetoro, Oba Olorumbe Ojagbohunmi, said the community had been battling the advancing sea for about 20 years despite repeated appeals to the government.
“It has been 20 years since the sea has been encroaching. The people of the community have been writing letters and making passionate appeals that we are experiencing serious environmental challenges, that the sea is coming at an alarming rate towards the residential areas of the community,” Ojagbohunmi said.
“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.”
Ojagbohunmi said only about seven of Ayetoro’s 45 streets were left, adding that factories, schools and other infrastructure had been swallowed by the sea.
He also recalled an incident in April when the ocean destroyed the road leading to his palace and the palace staircase.
“In April this year, disaster struck in the middle of the night, destroying the road to the palace and the palace’s staircase. I was held hostage for a week in the palace because there was no way my family and I could climb down from the palace. We are seeking help from wherever we can get it,” he said.
The monarch blamed the scale of the crisis on government failure and referred to two multibillion-naira shoreline protection contracts awarded by the Federal Government which, he said, had not been executed.
Communities Demand Environmental Justice
The coalition said Ilaje communities had contributed substantially to Ondo State’s oil-producing status but had received inadequate protection from the environmental impact of living along the coast.
“You cannot take 75 per cent of our resources and give us zero per cent protection,” the communities claimed in their statement.
Ogunlade Olamide, Associate Director at CAPPA, said governments at all levels must urgently respond to the situation.
“Within the context of climate justice, environmental accountability and historical liabilities, governments at the federal, state and local levels must act now to protect the Ilaje people, their homes, livelihoods and heritage,” Ogunlade said.
He said communities that had borne the environmental and social costs of resource extraction should not continue to face government inaction.
“Their call is not for charity, but a demand for justice, fairness, accountability and reparation,” he said.
The coalition’s General Coordinator, Comrade Akingboye Thompson, said the crisis had gone beyond a routine environmental problem.
“Ilaje coastal communities are facing an existential threat. The Atlantic Ocean is swallowing our land from the sea, and poor drainage is drowning our headquarters from within,” Thompson said.
He described the affected residents as “climate refugees in their own country”, saying many fishermen had lost access to traditional fishing grounds while thousands of displaced families were struggling to find safe places to live.
The coalition also raised concerns about flooding in Igbokoda, where poor drainage has left parts of the town vulnerable to flooding during the rainy season.
It called for the immediate construction of a modern drainage network in Igbokoda, saying the local government headquarters should not remain vulnerable to annual flooding.
The communities urged the Federal Government, Ondo State Government, Ilaje Local Government Council and relevant agencies to treat the situation as an emergency and begin immediate intervention.
They warned that more communities could disappear if action is delayed.
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