By Femi Ogunshola
The House of Representatives has urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide relief materials to victims of erosion disaster in Ogbo community in Abia State.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion by Rep. Emeka Nnamani(LP-Abia) during plenary in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said torrential rainfall damaged economic crops and washed away farmlands in the community located in Aba North and South Federal constituency in Abia State.
He added that the community had suffered devastating gully erosion, adding that this brought with it untold hardship and posed an imminent threat to lives and property for residents.
He raised concerned that Ogbo community, in Aba North Local Government Area, had over the years grappled with erosion menace without receiving any support from either the State or the Federal Government.
He said the people of Ogbo community had resorted to self-help to mitigate the ravaging effects of erosion in the community but their efforts have failed to yield desired results.
He said the houses of some residents of the community had been swallowed by the erosion, forcing them to take refuge on higher and safer grounds.
According to him, if the erosion in Ogbo community is not urgently addressed, it could degenerate into a national disaster as surrounding communities are also under threat of being swept away.
“The interventions by the Abia State Government to address the erosion have not yielded the desired result due to a lack of the needed expertise and funds to confront such a threat,” he said
Adopting the motion, the House urged the Ecological Fund Office to release adequate funds to solve the erosion challenge in Aba North Local Government Area of Abia State.
The House also mandated the committees on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness and Ecological Fund to ensure compliance. (NAN)
