Akwa Ibom state government has raised the alarm over 1000 erosion sites ravaging communities in the state and enlisted the support of the federal government to stem the flood menace
The state Commissioner for Environment and Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ekong Sampson made the appeal at the weekend during his tour of Utaewa, a fishing community in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of the state, which was recently overrun by flood.
Sampson who Sympathized with the residents of Utaewa over their predicament, regretted that states in the Niger Delta region were threatened by severe erosion.
“Our environment is threatened. We have seen for ourselves, but principally, Akwa Ibom is under pressure from the ravage of erosion and flood; as we Speak, we have over a thousand flood and erosion sites in this state. So that puts us under pressure”
Sampson who maintained that the Federal Government’s intervention was necessary as the state does not have the resources to tackle its peculiar flood and erosion problems alone, commended Governor Udom Emmanuel for demonstrating a lot of commitment towards tackling the flood menace.
He sued for partnership of national and international organisations to complement the state government effort even as he lauded the World Bank partnership with the State Government, on the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) which, he said, will soon salvage some major flood-related disaster areas within Uyo, such as the IBB Way and Anua-Udo Umana.
“We are partnering with world bank on the NEWMAP and project is doing very well. The contract for IBB Way in Uyo will soon be awarded, contract for Anua-Udo Umana will soon be awarded.
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”This clearly shows how the government of Mr. Udom Emmanuel is committed to addressing problems about our environment, but beyond what the state government is doing, other principal agencies and the federal government should also see Akwa Ibom State as a serious erosion and flood issue to intervene.
”I believe if the federal government and other agencies intervene too in Utaewa, we would have seen a different landscape and the story would have been different.”, Sampson said.
Responding Vice Chairman, Ikot Abasi Local government Council and Chairman of the Local Government Emergency Management Committee for the area, Mr. Etop Enang, thanked the State Government for the timely response to the people’s call.
According to Enang the Utaewa the water surge as one of such perennial problems facing the coastal regions in the state could be traced to surge from the Atlantic Ocean which is about 30 minutes away. – Nigeria News
