₦airaland Forum

*jona:
Imo identifies 460 erosion sites

National News Nov 16, 2009 By Chidi Nkwopara
[b]OWERRI—No fewer than 460 life-threatening erosion sites requiring immediate Federal Government’s attention have been identified by Imo State Government.
Governor Ikedi Ohakim, who raised the alarm in a chat with Vanguard,  lamented that the disastrous situation has continued to sack families from their ancestral homes, as well as deprive them of their arable lands for farming.
[b]He recalled that his administration had in its early days, ordered a detailed study of the situation, stressing that about 31 sites would cost about N12.8 billion.

[b]Meanwhile a high powered delegation of Senators led by the Senate President,  David Mark, has visited Imo State to ascertain first hand,  the degree of damage caused by the ravaging erosion in many communities of the state.
Vanguard gathered that the visit was part of the activities lined up for the Senators during their one week retreat, organised at Nike Lake Resort, Enugu State.[/b]Ohakim was of the view that “if the ugly erosion menace was not tackled methodically and immediately, it may result to relocating the people of the entire state”, adding that  other states in the South East were not better in this regard.
He was particularly worried by what he termed “the phantom of non-performing erosion contracts, which worsen the situation rather than ameliorate it”.

On what should be done to check the ravaging erosion, Ohakim pleaded that the entire South East geo-political zone should be declared a disaster zone.

“The Federal Government should declare the South East a disaster zone, which requires emergency intervention.

There should also be massive forestation and comprehensive channelization of flood water, massive infrastructural development and adequate budgetary provision for the affected states to tackle any future environmental degradation”, he added.

The  high powered delegation of Senators led by the Senate President,  David Mark  inspected Nekede erosion site, the Njaba gully erosion site along the busy Owerri-Orlu  highway and Umuonyeali erosion site in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state.

Speaking to newsmen at the end of the tour, the Senate President described the erosion menace in Imo State as “a disaster”,  lamenting the damage this natural phenomenon had caused the people of the state.

Assuring the government and people of the state of the preparedness of the Senate to contribute to finding a lasting solution to the problem, Senator Mark promised that erosion control would receive greater priority in the 2010 budget, soon to be deliberated by the Senate.

“Erosion menace in the South East is truly serious. The current ecological fund in the federation account would be strengthened to contain erosion control”, Mark promised.

Fielding questions, the member representing Imo West senatorial zone, Chief Osita Izunaso[/b], described the erosion sites they visited as horrible, stressing that those who have not visited the sites may not fully appreciate the magnitude of the problem facing the communities in Imo State.[/b]“All the erosion sites we visited are horrifying. Families have been sacked from their ancestral homes. People’s farmlands and means of livelihood have been destroyed and more would be destroyed except immediate measure are taken to stem the ugly tide”, Izunaso said.

He appealed to the Federal Government to step in immediately and save the people from further hardship, adding that it would be a better gift for the affected communities in the new year.




;http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/11/16/imo-identifies-460-erosion-sites/

donjon:
I pity you & your people who blindly follow ojukwu!
Wait until FG wipes out the entire igbo race, because of one man's stupid ambition

*jona:
here is some pics from igboland.

~Bluetooth:
If they are not evil,then why are they not use for tourism

jara:
Some people can twist sha. Low rate of ritual killing or people are fed up of too many!

Nchara:
You are still in your own obsession?

BTW, the same can be said for other regions too

Desertification is killing the North
Flood is killing Lagos, Abeaokuta, and the South South
Erosion is also killing Benin and Ibadan
Did you not read that Bayelsa will soon cease to exist due to coastal flooding?
Everywhere is affected ok?

ok.

*jona:
Erosion is killing us, say South-East governors
By Emmanuel Ogala

November 12, 2009 01:34AMT
 
The South-East governors have raised an alert over the contracts awarded by the Federal Government for the management of erosion sites in the region. The governors collectively told the Senate on Wednesday in Enugu that they are yet to see real work on the nine critical erosion sites in the region after the contracts have been awarded by the Federal Government.

[b][b]They said that the last time they checked the Federal Government records, the contracts had been marked as fully paid for and completed by the contractors.

Grace Bent (PDP Adamawa State), the chairman of the Senate committee on environment, told NEXT in an interview that the situation is really grave and that there is a need for the restructuring of the ecological fund which is supposed to pool money that will be utilised for the reclamation of such sites.

Mrs. Bent [b]blamed the current structure of the ecological fund and Federal Government's lackadaisical attitude on environmental issues for the inability of the government to tackle the disasters adequately.

She said the projects which the governors are complaining about might be those awarded with the ecological fund which is managed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the finance minister.

"We know of a few which we are already inv[/b]estigating, now the new revelation by the South-East governors is another addition to it," she added.

Do we relocate South-East?

According to statistics, close to 76 per cent and 31 per cent, on the average, of land mass of the five south-eastern states are affected by erosion mildly or critically.

The governors, on Wednesday, took turns, using power point footages, to narrate the gravity of erosion hazard in their states which they said is far beyond their funding capacity.

The Imo State Governor, Ikhedi Ohakim, argued that erosion is totally caused by human activity and attributed the severity of attrition in his region to the half-hearted approach of the Federal Government towards curbing the disaster.

Although, Mr. Ohakim said politicians are "not corrupt", he argued that the greatest erosion in Nigeria is the erosion of value which leads to only "talk-talk and not act-act." He said, "If everything fails, we should reconsider relocating the South East."

According to the Enugu State Governor, Sullivan Chime, the erosion scourge is threatening the existence of Enugu, the capital city, because the community that supplies the metropolis with water is under great danger of gullies and the base of the water project as well as the water pipeline are under threats of being washed away by erosion.

Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, also narrated how over 1000 communities in his state is under serious threat of being washed away by erosion.

They, therefore, pleaded with the Senate to come to help them by way of legislation and oversight function and make sure the Federal Government declares the region an erosion [/b] disaster zone again.[/b]They also asked that special funds be used to plant a lot of trees in the region and properly channel all the streams in the region, and develop the already affected areas with infrastructure like roads and drainage.

Fact Box - Erosion statistics in South East 376 critical erosion sites in Enugu state 460 critical erosion sites in Imo state Over 3000 critical erosion sites in Abia and Anambra



http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5480325-146/Erosion_is_killing_us,_say_South-East.csp

Princek12:
Okoro madu, they call am Okoro, and he look like Okoro

Obelomo:
Yeah their are many who are beautiful, in their own way that are not popular. Also the reason why I said they dont have to be of Yoruba origin, because their many actresses[b] including Fathia who are not yoruba.

selingel:
Do we now say, Enugu is no go area for actors (for now) in Nigeria?

0sisi:
Is this why the Yoruba community wants a free plot of land in Enugu rather than buy one?

yommyuk:
PLEASE FORGIVE ME OKORO BOYS.
I just stumbled across this story and thought I should let NL have it.
KIDNAPPERS -


http://odili.net/news/source/2009/nov/11/309.html

Osuofia: Actors desert Enugu
By Ogbonna Amadi, Benjamin Njoku, Lagos & Tony Edike NO BI YORUBA REPORT AM O! Na IGBO REPORT AM
Wednesday, November 11, 2009

ENUGU—POLICE commands in the South-Eastern states have been placed on red alert to fish out the kidnappers of Nollywood star actor and comedian, Nkem Owoh.

He was abducted on the Enugu– Port Harcourt Expressway on Monday.
The rise in kidnapping in the South-East has forced a majority of the actors who are based in Enugu to relocate to Lagos for safety. Owoh, who was residing in Enugu with his family, had relocated to Lagos some months ago.
“How can we continue staying here, when today you hear that they abducted Pete Edochie and tomorrow you hear that it is Osuofia? Who knows who they will kidnap tomorrow? A top actor, who wanted his name veiled, said, adding that the abductors had contacted Owoh’s family, demanding N15m, which they insisted must be paid without delay.
Although the whereabouts of the abducted movie star is unknown, a senior police officer attached to Zone 9 Police Headquarters in Umuahia, Abia State, told Vanguard on telephone yesterday that the authorities had asked all commands in the zone to rescue the actor without delay.
He said the spate of kidnapping in the zone had become a major embarrassment to the police and as such would not continue to watch “these enemies” to terrorise innocent citizens for their selfish ends.
Owoh, popularly called Osuofia, was reportedly abducted on the Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway on Monday while travelling to Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
There were, however, conflicting reports yesterday regarding the exact spot where he was seized. While some said he was abducted between Aba and Port Harcourt, others said he was picked from his car at Lokpanta in Abia State.

Enugu State Police Command ’s spokesman, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, when contacted yesterday said from reports Owoh was abducted at Lokpanta, which is under the Abia State Command . He did not give further details.
Meanwhile, reports said the kidnappers are demanding N15 million for his release.
While some newspapers reported yesterday that the kidnappers are demanding N45million, sources in the movie industry said the demand is N15m.
It was also gathered that Owoh’ kidnap has created fears among local movie actors who now see themselves as potential targets of kidnappers.
Two months ago, another popular actor, Pete Edochie, was abducted in Onitsha, Anambra State, but was released unconditionally after a day in captivity.