…urges community participation in refuse management
The Edo State Government is committed to effective flood management and control, Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Hon. Adaze Emwanta, has said.Emwanta, who gave the assurance in Benin City, on Wednesday, called on Edo residents to support the State government’s efforts at ensuring a sustainable environment, through proper refuse disposal and helping with clearing the drains in their communities regularly.The Commissioner said: “Through a series of partnerships with development partners such as the World Bank, the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) has made remarkable progress in the flood control projects in Ugboha, Esan South East Local Government Area (LGA) and Igbei, in Auchi, Etsako West LGA.”
He added: “The flood and erosion mitigation works in Upper Adesuwa Road and several adjoining streets in Government Reservation Area (GRA) in Benin City, the Edo State capital were conceived by Governor Obaseki to give residents of these areas a safe and decent environment.” Emwanta further said that “for several years, many Edo people in the Ogiso area of Benin City lost their property to the perennial flood in the area and many house owners relocated to other parts of the city.”“The Obaseki administration executed a flood alleviation project in the Ogiso/Osunde catchment areas of the city to check the devastation caused by flood and the landlords who left the area are back,” he added. According to him, “There are other erosion control projects on Erediauwa Street, between Upper Sokponba Road and Sapele Road; Textile Mill Road, and currently the recurring flooding on Dumez Road is being attended to by the State government”.
He however said that, “effective management of the environment is a collective task, we all must partner with the government to ensure that we do not clog the drains with refuse.“The rainy season is here and some parts of the world, including Edo State, are grappling with flooding, exacerbated by climate change and human activities such as indiscriminate refuse disposal.”He added that the “Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration is currently executing several flood control projects across the State on a scale that Edo residents have not witnessed in a very long time” and appealed “we need the support of everybody in the maintenance of these projects.“We have maintained consistently that the Obaseki administration is committed to serving Edo people and one of the ways we can deepen this partnership is to complement the State government’s effort in this regard by clearing their drains regularly and disposal of empty water sachet, cans of drinks and water in refuse bins.”
