By 
Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has promised that his administration is ready to increase its counterpart funding if need arises to put an end to the menace of erosion in the State.
The Governor gave the assurance on Tuesday when he received the National Project Co-ordinator of Nigerian Climate Adaptation, Watershed Project (NEWMAP)–European Investment Bank funding, Engr. Anda Ayuba Yalaks and his Team who paid him a working visit in his Umuehim Nvosi country home, Isiala Ngwa South LGA.
The Governor explained that his administration considers the environmental impact of everything it does, saying that some actions by people are what we are paying for today.”
He informed the NEWMAP team that the State could not wait for them before swinging into action to arrest the ravaging impact of a gully erosion site at Ovom Street, Aba.
The Governor said during his visit to the erosion site few months back, he saw the devastating impact of the ravaging erosion and ordered the immediate evacuation of residents around the area and the immediate engagement of experienced contractors to deal with the situation.
He noted that although the team had identified about 57 erosion sites in the State and prioritized 20 sites, the figures were understated because some erosion sites may not be very evident at the moment, but a closer look at them will help discover that they are disasters in the waiting.
He appreciated Engr. Ikechukwu Ukaegbu, the NEWMAP Project Co-ordinator in Abia State for the great job he and his team are doing, which has prepared the State for the implementation of NEWMAP projects.
Earlier in his speech, the team leader and National Project Co-ordinator of NEWMAP, Engr. Yalaks said that he and his team came to Abia State to access erosion sites and ascertain how ready Abia is, as one of the 23 States benefiting from the NEWMAP-EIB 175 million Euros erosion funding projects in Nigeria.
He stated that the project objective is to reverse land degradation, flooding, erosion and land degradation in a targeted sub-watershed, adding that the project has a duration of five years, effective from 2024.
He described Governor Otti’s choice of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) headed by Mr. Ikechukwu Ukaegbu as the best.
Engr. Yalaks said that the identified sites are active, expanding at an alarming rate, separating communities and threatening livelihoods, stressing that some of the basic causes of the problems are poor road designs and inadequate drainage systems.
He called for more counterpart funding and continued community engagements for the citizenry to own the projects.
The Project Co-ordinator in Abia, Engr. IKechukwu Ukaegbu attributed their achievements to the Governor’s overwhelming support to ensure the readiness of the State for the projects.
Also speaking, the Abia State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Philemon Ogbonna thanked Governor Otti for his intentional and enduring support to prepare the State for the NEWMAP-EIB funded projects.
He also thanked the visiting National NEWMAP team led by Engr. Anda Ayuba Yalaks for doing a thorough job in their assignment of accessing the State’s readiness for NEWMAP-EIB and for confirming that the State is fully prepared having met the requirements for the project.
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