Flooding: Reps summon minister, NEMA DG
Mercy Adi
The House of Representatives has summoned the Minister of Environment and the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The Chairman of the House Committee on Environment, Mr. Pondi Gbabojor, said they are to appear at the House next sitting or face sanctions accordingly.
The minister and Director General were expected to show up at a public hearing by the Committee to address the devastating issues of gully erosion, perennial flooding, and desertification that plague many communities in Nigeria, but failed to turn up.
The hearing was to address the adverse impacts of gully erosion in several communities across six states, namely, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Lagos, and Ondo; as well as the desertification disaster in Kano and the flooding disaster in Bauchi State.
The heads of the agencies were absent and did not send any representative.
According to Gbabojor, the Committee was displeased by their behaviour as it was the second time they were shunning the invitation.
He directed the clerk of the Committee to write to both of them, saying such an attitude would no longer be condoned.
“Clerk do a letter to the Ministry of Environment and NEMA and express the displeasure of the committee because this is the second time they are not showing up and it would not be condoned again,” he said.
While stressing that the issue to be addressed was of urgent concern to the wellbeing of Nigerians, he said the concerns were brought to the attention of the House, following the deliberation of some motions which were accordingly referred for further legislative actions.
He said the environmental crisis resulting from gully erosion is more prevalent in the south-eastern region, and has reached an alarming stage.
Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, said the prevalence of climate change had impacted the environment harmfully, resulting in an increased wave of erosion, desertification, flooding, and other forms of natural disasters.
The speaker who was represented by the deputy majority leader of the House, Abdullahi Halims, said the ecological threats have specifically caused deaths, displacement of homes, devastation of farmlands and means of livelihood, and destruction of infrastructure, leading to socio-economic challenges in communities across the eight states captured in the public hearing.
He said: “As the People’s Parliament and in line with our Legislative Agenda of embarking on legislative processes and legal frameworks to address environmental challenges, the House resolved to respond urgently to the menace in the communities to stem the ugly tide. On this note, I urge you to feel free to make your contributions in the most resourceful and open manner possible to provoke positive legislative results.”
