Edo awards N30bn contract for storm water drains
By Simon Ebegbulem
BENIN—IN order to ameliorate the impact of climate change in the state, the Edo State government has awarded a contract for the sum of N30billion, for the construction of storm water drains in Benin City.
Governor Adams Oshiomhole, who stated this in Benin City, Tuesday, at the 1st International Conference on Energy and Climate Change Mitigation, organised by the National Center for Energy and Environment, NCEE, University of Benin, in collaboration with Envirofly Consulting United Kingdom, said that the impact of climate change was already visible in every part of the country.
“Indisputable are the impacts of climate change on our ecosystem, such as river, lake and sea and plant and animal distributions. In addition, increases in the occurrence of heat waves, forest fires, storm-surge flooding, gully erosion and other climate related hazards are consistent with observed climate trends,” he said.
Oshiomhole who was represented by the state Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Mr Clem Agba, said that “these signs spell doom for us all, if we refuse to act now by reassessing the way we do things. Reducing and or preventing deforestation is the major mitigating option with the largest and most immediate carbon stock impact in the short term hectare and per year globally.”
He said as part of government’s adaptive response to the situation, it “awarded the N30billion contract, saying that it was in addition to the current policy of the state government to ensure that appropriate secondary drains are constructed for all roads, which must also connect to the primary drains “to effectively de-flood our cities and protect our roads.”
Earlier in his speech, the Director of the NCEE, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, noted that communities in the country, particularly those from the oil producing areas, are facing increasing threat as a result of climate change, desertification, more intense flooding, diminishing water availability and new health related hazards. He said that the seminar became inevitable so as to address issues on renewable energy and climate change interceptions.
