In response to a distress call earlier today, the Deputy Governor Senator Akon Eyakenyi PhD visited Ewet Housing Estate (Extension), where a house was submerged and surrounding buildings flooded as a result of last night’s heavy downpour.
The Akwa Ibom State Government sympathises with victims of the disaster even as efforts are being made to ameliorate their pain and find a permanent solution to the menace. The Deputy governor drew their attention to the efforts of His Excellency, Pastor Umo Eno at de-flooding Atiku Abubakar Road, Tabernacle Road and the ongoing Uyo - Ewet Reclamation and Beautification Project to underscore government’s determination to keep the State safe and flood free.
Away from the present incident, She also used the occasion to once again draw the attention of our people to the 2024 Annual Flood Outlook Report released by the federal government through the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) which lists Akwa Ibom among the 31 States which will likely experience flooding this year.
Although His Excellency, Pastor Umo Eno immediately swung into action by constituting a Committee chaired by me to work towards mitigating the impact of such occurrences, the solution is largely dependent on our collective attitude towards the environment. We must avoid dumping refuse in gutters, building on waterways as well as littering our streets with non biodegradable pollutants like plastics, polythene bags, aluminum cans, glass objects, etc. In our own interest, we must learn to periodically desilt gutters in our surroundings.
Moreso, while building in areas where roads are yet to be constructed, it’s important to raise our houses to the likely levels of the envisaged roads so that they don’t become too low for inhabitation after construction since we are topographically a flatland which is susceptible to flooding.
Keeping our environment safe and healthy is everyone’s responsibility.
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