Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
Senator representing Edo Central senatorial district, Monday Okpebholo, for the second time in quick succession, has called for the urgent interventions by the Federal Government to address the issues of gully erosion ravaging the district and save the lives of the people in the affected areas.
Senator Okpebholo in his motion tagged “Urgent Need for Erosion Control in Edo Central Senatorial District to Save Lives and Properties”, said the flooding menace has put many communities under the constant threat of erosion devastation, resulting in massive gully erosions, flooding and road devastations.
“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 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.
“We urge for the collaboration of federal agencies, namely; the Federal Ministry of Environment, Ecological Fund Office and the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing towards tackling the menace of erosion devastation in Edo Central Senatorial District.
“We also urge 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”, Okpebholo added.
