The House of Representatives has asked the federal government to urgently control gully erosion in Imo, Akwa Ibom and 34 other states across the country.
The resolution of the House followed the adoption of the amendments to two separate motions on the need to “Control Gully Erosion in Imo and Akwa Ibom States,” sponsored by Hon. Ugonna Ozurigbo and Hon. Clement Jimbo at the plenary on Wednesday.
Moving the motions, the lawmakers said the negative impacts of gully erosion are humongous in Nigeria with attendant loss of farmlands and basic sources of livelihoods, loss of properties and lives, disconnection and separation of families and neighbouring villages, pothole traps and loss of soil.
They also noted that the inhabitants of these affected communities have lost their farmlands and cannot access the markets and cities to sell or exchange their farm produce for other economic items.
The parliamentarians expressed worry that erosions have destroyed buildings and rendered residents homeless, while those in the urban areas find it difficult to visit their families in the village, and some family and ancestral lands are Kilometers in length are completely wiped out by these gully erosions.
Adopting the motions, the House urged the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs through Niger Delta Development Commission to complete the reconstruction of Ikot Ekang, Obiobom Bridge and others to prevent total disconnections from the communities.
The Green Chamber also urged the Federal Ministry of Environment and other relevant agencies to remedy the menace of gully erosion nationwide.
It mandated the Committees on Environment and NDDC (when constituted) to investigate the immediate and remote causes of gully erosion and urged the Ecological Fund Office under the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to immediately commence the control of gully erosion.
Also at the plenary, the House while adopting a motion sponsored by Hon. Eze Nwachukwu Eze from Ebonyi urged the federal government to intervene in the persistent communal clashes between the residents of Ngbo in Ohaukwu, Ebonyi State and Agila in Igumale, local government areas of Benue State.
The House urged the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to provide remedial measures to the roads leading to the two communities to serve as a clear developmental impetus and access in the interest of the majority of the Nigerian people, pending the 2024 budget estimates.
It further urged the National Boundary Commission to conclude the ongoing boundary adjustment between the two states to bring the crisis to an end and to forestall further recurrence.
