Monday, November 16, 2009

Watching erosion sites in Nigeria

AllAfrica.com via the Vanguard (Nigeria): No fewer than 460 life-threatening erosion sites requiring immediate Federal Government's attention have been identified by Imo State Government. Governor Ikedi Ohakim, who raised the alarm in a chat with Vanguard, lamented that the disastrous situation has continued to sack families from their ancestral homes, as well as deprive them of their arable lands for farming.

He recalled that his administration had in its early days, ordered a detailed study of the situation, stressing that about 31 sites would cost about N12.8 billion. Meanwhile a high powered delegation of Senators led by the Senate President, David Mark, has visited Imo State to ascertain first hand, the degree of damage caused by the ravaging erosion in many communities of the state.

Vanguard gathered that the visit was part of the activities lined up for the Senators during their one week retreat, organised at Nike Lake Resort, Enugu State. Ohakim was of the view that "if the ugly erosion menace was not tackled methodically and immediately, it may result to relocating the people of the entire state", adding that other states in the South East were not better in this regard.

He was particularly worried by what he termed "the phantom of non-performing erosion contracts, which worsen the situation rather than ameliorate it"….

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