Abia Lawmaker Faults Removal Of Erosion Site From Intervention List

An Abia State lawmaker, Kalu Mba Nwoke, has condemned the removal of Elu-Amuke Ohafia erosion site from the list of Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) interventions in the state.

The member representing Ohafia South constituency in the State House of Assembly, stated this yesterday while speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend in Umuahia, the state capital, calling for relisting of the site.

Nwoke said he had raised the issue on the floor of the House as a matter of urgent public importance during plenary and appealed for the intervention of the speaker, Emmanuel Emeruwa.

“More worrisome is the fact that NEWMAP had previously carried out engineering design of Elu/Amuke Ohafia Road which was also approved by the World Bank when it was funding the interventions.,” he said.

He explained that the affected communities had made efforts to ensure that the site is given urgent attention by the NEWMAP, lamenting that until now, it had not been done.

The legislator who, blamed the former NEWMAP project director in the state (names withheld) for the removal due to his vested political interest, stressed its relisting and urgent execution.

‎He said that the president-general of Ohafia Improvement Union, Kalu Ikpemini had officially written a letter to the office of the speaker through his (Nwoke’s) office, praying the House to intervene on the matter.‎

‎The chairman of the House Committee on Environment and Urban Renewal, observed that further delay in checking the erosion would lead to washing away of farmlands and economic trees in the communities.