A former Commissioner for Environment and later, that of Works in Delta State; Dr George Ugbomah has called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency on flooding in Nigeria.
Dr Ugbomah, a Political Scientist and Environmentalist, also called for urgent setting up of a high powered technical committee, comprised of representatives of all relevant government agencies and bodies to provide a ‘Work Guide’ for construction of dams in parts of the country to contain and manage excessive water that might cause flooding.
Dr Ugbomah, a victim of perennial rampaging flooding at his palatial home in Aboh, Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State, stated this in a press statement titled: “A Call For Declaration Of State Of Emergency On Flooding In Nigeria” and made available to journalists in Asaba, capital city of the state.
He said the only way forward is to seek permanent solution to the problem, which he noted will not be tóo challenging if sincere commitments are made by critical stakeholders.
Dr Ugbomah explained further that besides the issue of construction of dams, the technical committee should also work out modalities for systematic desilting of rivers across the country, particularly Rivers Niger and Benue.
He said the technical committee should also be saddled with the responsibility to prepare the required cost for the construction of the dams and desilting of the rivers, as well as supervise the commencement and execution of the approaches to stop flooding in Nigeria.
The former commissioner stressed the need for effective collaboration of the Executive and National Assembly towards making required budgetary provisions for immediate implementation of the work guide by the proposed technical team, stating that adequate funding was key to actualization of the recommendations of the committee.
“The situation at hand calls for urgent action. Government must stop or eliminate the trend of perennial flooding and its devastating impacts on lives and properties of many Nigerians. More so, it affects the nation’s match towards developing a viable economy.
We can not talk of developing a strong and viable economy when production efforts, particularly in the area of agriculture (farming) are wiped out annually”, he emphasized.