Ondo Pushes Coastal Rescue Efforts as Ghana’s Dredge Masters Begin Field Assessments in Ayetoro
21st November 2025
Hope for lasting shoreline protection in Ondo State surged this week as engineers from Ghana’s Dredge Masters Limited (DML) arrived in Ayetoro for a comprehensive inspection of erosion-ravaged coastal communities. The visit signals a decisive step in Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa’s renewed commitment to reversing decades of sea encroachment across Ilaje and Ese-Odo.
The team from DML—West Africa’s leading coastal protection and dredging firm—touched down in Ayetoro shortly after an OSOPADEC delegation returned from a technical verification mission to Ghana. Led by DML Managing Director, Captain A. A. Kan, the experts were received by senior officials of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, including the Executive Director of Projects, Dr. Olujimi Kufo, and the Executive Director of Finance, Mr Mallon Ogbaro.
Their tour covered some of the most affected points along the coastline: the Ayetoro shoreline, the Ugbonla–Erunna corridor, the Idi-Ogba–Awoye route, the Abereke–Ori-Oke Iwamimo axis, and several communities such as Apata, Ajapa, and the expansive Araromi Beach stretch.
Confronted with the scale of destruction, Captain Kan assured residents that substantial recovery is possible—provided government commitment and stakeholder cooperation remain consistent.
The latest assessment follows the earlier visit by OSOPADEC Chairman, Prince Olabiyi Olaleye Poroye, who inspected DML’s completed reclamation and sea defence projects in Ghana at the directive of Governor Aiyedatiwa. The evaluation was aimed at verifying the firm’s expertise before engaging any contractor for the long-awaited Ayetoro intervention.
After years of abandoned projects and dashed expectations, the state government now insists that only firms with demonstrable competence and verifiable track records will handle shoreline protection in Ayetoro and other vulnerable communities.
With the fieldwork concluded, DML engineers are moving into the technical evaluation and data-processing stage—critical steps before the commencement of full-scale reclamation and sea defence works.
Across Ayetoro, where residents have battled Atlantic incursion for generations, optimism appears to be returning. The combination of technical expertise, political will, and renewed oversight has raised hopes that the long-suffering community may finally be on the path to restoration.
