Floodings: Akwa Ibom Govt Blames Past Administrations
Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Charles Udo, has attributed the perennial floodings in Uyo, the state capital, to an alleged failure of successive administrations in the state to follow the drainage Master Plan.
The commissioner made the disclosure while answering questions from newsmen and also revealed that, most of the erosions and floodinhs in the metropolis are purely man-made, as most of the houses there are built on water channels.
Uyo is known for incessant flooding during the raining seasons, with areas like IBB Way, Atiku Abubakar Way and Nsikak Eduok Avenue, among others recording heavy human losses, especially children, during rains.
During the last raining season, two teenage sisters were swept away by flood, just like an infant male, whose mother escaped death by the whiskers, was said to have missed his step and was swept away by flood during a heavy down pour in the night.
Udo said: “Unfortunately, the drainage Master Plan for Uyo was not followed in the past. So, today we are building a 8.4-kilometer drains that will take water from the Atiku Abubakar Way up to the Secretariat Roundabout, then link it up to the Women Development Centre along IBB Way, into Atan Offot, up to the PDP Secretariat.
“That drainage, because of the volume of water around the areas, will carry 50,000 litres of water per second. That is what we are doing about the IBB flood project. We also sought emergency intervention around the Etim Umanah and Anua Way which is expected by August.
“There is something that I want us to learn here: that most of the environmental problems we are tackling in the state are man-made problems. That is why public education, sensitisation is important.
“Blocking the drainages with debris: We are also planning to bring back days of sanitary inspection. The environmental officials who their business is to promote environmental health.”
The commissioner said his ministry has recieved a lot of complains against noise pollution, stressing that, as the ministry continue in its sensitisation and awareness exercise, it would start to bring violators to book.
“Of course, I have received much complaint about noise pollution. It is an aspect that we will deal with as we progress,” he said.
On mining business, the commissioner acknowledged that it is on Exclusive List, but warned that those with licence to operate have to liaise with his ministry on how to carry out their operations.
“Mining is on the Exclusive List. Illegal sand and gravel mining are dangerous to our environment. When it comes to mining, we are saying that if you are dredging on a river, you cannot go lower than 150 meters close from the bank of the tiver to avoid trigering erosion. And on land, you must not dredge lower than 500meters from critical infrastructure.
“Sadly, today a case in point is between Eket and Onna where someone was arrested for dredging under the bridge. A bridge can collapse and the environment devasted because of dredging. Following the law is what we are doing,” he added.
