Chinedu Obidigwe, the member representing Anambra East and West federal constituency, has called for establishing a national ecological intervention commission to safeguard the well-being of people affected by flooding in Nigeria.
Mr Obidigwe, the vice chairman of the House Committee on Environment, made the call on Tuesday in Awka while speaking to journalists after meeting with environmental and agricultural stakeholders.
“The National Emergency Management Agency has been doing its best, but in view of the monumental losses during the flooding, we need to establish a national ecological intervention commission,” said the lawmaker, citing a need for a special intervention fund for over 15 states yearly affected by the perennial flooding.
According to him, the commission will manage the ecological funds withdrawn from federal allocations to states. The proposed commission would also interface with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to cushion farmers’ losses by assisting them with grants to commence next year’s farming season.
“The commission will have some form of independence to handle and manage that special budget of at least N250 billion to be allocated to the affected states,” Mr Obidigwe explained. “If we have the Niger Delta Development Commission for oil-producing states, there is nothing wrong in establishing similar agencies for the states that are always affected by the perennial flooding.”
Mr Obidigwe lamented that flooding led to the destruction of farmlands, especially in Anambra, with farmers losing billions of naira.
“Most of these farmers, like in my constituency, borrow money to go back to the farm, and when the flood comes, they lose their investments, and the banks are on their neck, which is frustrating,” the legislator stressed.
He called for the dredging of the Omambala River and the creation of an irrigation system to assist farmers in embarking on dry-season cultivation.
“Omambala River should be dredged, and irrigation created to assist our farmers, and this will also reduce the volume of water during the perennial flooding,” Mr Obidigwe stated. “The time is now before August or September.”
(NAN)
