The Senate has urged for rapid collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Ecological Fund Office, and the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to combat erosion destruction in Edo Central Senatorial District.
The Senate has also called on the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, FERMA, and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to collaborate and carry out emergency works on Ekpoma (Uhiele, Ujoelen, Ukpenu, Borehole Road & Emuhi), Irrua (Uwesan and Ikekato), Ewu (Eguare and Uzogholo), Uromi (Efandion, Eguare & Uzegwa), Udo and Illushi.
The Upper Chamber has directed the Committees on Environment, Ecology, Works, Special Duties, FERMA (when formed), and Legislative Compliance to work with the Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, NEMA, and the Ecological Fund Office to develop a long-term work plan to stop the devastation; and to work with FERMA to keep the expressways and other roads in the area from deteriorating further.
The Senate has recommended for the establishment of NEMA stations in Edo central to help people in the event of an emergency that may result in the loss of life or property.
The Senate passed resolutions on Tuesday in response to a motion headed “Urgent Need for Erosion Control in Edo Central Senatorial District to Save Lives and Property.”
Senator Monday Okpebholo, APC, Edo Central, sponsored the motion.
Senator Okpebholo stated in his presentation that the Senate “notes that the peculiar nature of the topography of Edo central senatorial district has put many communities under the constant threat of erosion devastation, resulting in massive gully erosions, flooding, and road devastations, which is one major reason why most roads quickly fail, leading in communities and homes being damaged and abandoned.
“Also notes that the Okene-Auchi-Benin expressway, a major road infrastructure in Nigeria began to fail at the Ekpoma axis owing to several gully erosions.
“The Ewu-Uromi-Agbor Road corridor has also experienced similar fate in Uromi axis. Nigerians in Irrua, Ekpoma, Uromi, Ewu and other communities have fled their homes or got their access roads damaged owing to the erosion problems.
“In June, two persons died after being swept away from their homes in Ujoelen, Ekpoma. A school girl died two years ago in Efandion, Uromi, on her way to school due to the uncontrollable flooding. It is difficult to construct roads to Udo community because of the wild erosion gullies. This trend is all over the area.”
The Senate according to Okpebholo is “worried that infrastructure like roads and electricity will be grievously affected by the devastation of gully erosion if the situation is not arrested, as government institutions like schools and hospitals will also be damaged, and more Nigerians may lose their homes as is already being experienced.”
The senate is “also worried that ongoing highway road projects in Edo central face the risk of being damaged even before they are completed, as a result of which the country may just be losing hundreds of millions of naira because of the natural disaster.
“The cost of interventions in erosion disaster is too weighty for local and state governments to bear.”
