Loading ...By Okey Maduforo Awka .
Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra state has raised fresh alarm over the menace of flood erosion in the area lamenting that the land mass of the state is shrinking.
To this end Soludo has declared a state of emergency on the deadly effects of flood and gully erosion in the area tasking residents of the 177 Communities to commence clearing of all blocked stains and water channels their respective domains .
Soludo decried the indiscriminate obstruction of waterways and rampant sand mining practices currently plaguing Anambra’s landscape.
Addressing the Anambra State Traditional Rulers’ Council meeting, the Governor mandated the immediate, state-wide desilting of all drainage systems and the cessation of indiscriminate sand mining activities, warning that these practices are actively accelerating the state’s vulnerability to flooding and gully erosion.
Governor Soludo emphasized that Anambra is currently facing a dire environmental tipping point, noting that while the state possesses the second-smallest landmass in Nigeria, it is rapidly shrinking due to ecological disasters.
“Let me draw your attention to the emergency that we face: the environment, flooding, and gully erosion. It is Anambra’s number one existential threat,” Governor Soludo stated.
“While Lagos is expanding into the ocean, Anambra is shrinking. Whole communities are being swallowed, and we are battling it.
If we devote the entire state budget for the next ten years, we will not be able to significantly scratch the surface of this threat.”
The Governor expressed deep concern over the role of human activity in exacerbating these disasters, citing the common practice of channeling residential run-off water directly onto roads and the deliberate dumping of waste into drainage infrastructure.
“We blocked the drainages; there should be a state of emergency in desilting all the drainages. Even people that mine sand contribute to this, because as the sand is being removed, it creates an avenue for erosion. We have our duties to protect our environment,” he added.
As the state government moves to implement these urgent environmental directives and governance reforms, the administration calls upon traditional rulers to mobilize their subjects in ensuring that drainage channels remain clear and environmental regulations are strictly observed.
