DELTA NGOs SEND SOS TO WORLD BANK ON EROSION MENACE

The Forum of Delta State NGOs has sent a Save Our Soul (SOS) to the World Bank office in Abuja to urgently commence work on the five selected erosion and flood devastated sites in Delta State.

The forum also appealed to the Delta State Government to put machinery in place towards pressuring the World Bank to expedite action on the interventionist project.

According to the forum, the affected sites located in Owanta-Midoma, Jesse, Ubulu-Uku, Ukwu-Nzu and Obomkpa: should be given urgent attention to avert loss of lives and property, and stop further deterioration of the sites.

Speaking to journalists in Asaba, the Coordinator of the Forum, Deacon Okezi Odugala and Secretary, Chief Greg Osamenjor, said recent field assessment visits to the five sites showed that there was an urgent need to commence remediation and construction activities to check the worsening erosion and flood menace ravaging the sites which they said was already posing serious danger to the inhabitants and their livelihood.

They revealed that many houses had been destroyed, lives lost, businesses closed down and farmlands washed away, lamenting that the scenario had heightened the level of poverty and health challenges in the environment. The forum thanked Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for graciously releasing the state’s counterpart fund of N500 million for the project since 2016 and the Commissioner for Environment, Honourable John Nani, for carrying out the needed capacity building and technical studies of project impacted communities, with a view to delivering a sustainable project.

While also appreciating the World Bank for selecting Delta State as beneficiary of the Nigeria Environment and Watershed Management Programme (NEWMAP) geared towards environmental protection and sustainable development in Nigeria, the forum warned that the coming rains would make all the efforts put in place to go to waste as a result of the delay in the execution of the project.

The forum called on all stakeholders to partner positively to see to the immediate implementation of the erosion and flood control project in the five selected communities in the state and replicating it  in more communities, advising that a stitch in time saves nine.