Chioma Onuegbu -Uyo
Akwa Ibom State government has solicited the support of the Federal Government on the efforts to tackle the flood and erosion problems ravaging some communities in the state.
The state Commissioner for Environment and Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ekong Sampson made the call at the weekend during his tour of Utaewa, a fishing community in Ikot Abasi local government area of the state.
The community was recently overrun by the flood.
Sampson, who Sympathised with the residents of Utaewa over their predicament, regretted that states in the Niger Delta region were threatened by flood and erosion problems.
He said: “Our environment is threatened. We have seen for ourselves, but principally, Akwa Ibom is under pressure from the ravage of erosion and flood. As we speak, we have over a thousand flood and erosion sites in this state. So that puts us under pressure.
The commissioner, who maintained that the federal government’s intervention was necessary as the state does not have the resources to tackle its peculiar flood and erosion problems alone, commended Governor Udom Emmanuel for demonstrating a lot of commitment towards tackling the flood menace.
He sued for the partnership of national and international organisations to complement the state government efforts even and commended the World Bank for partnering with the state government on Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) to salvage some major flood-related disaster areas within Uyo.
