Ebonyi Partners World Bank To Combat Erosion

Ebonyi State Government
has approved N350 million as counterpart fund of the World Bank-assisted Nigeria Erosion and Water­shed Management Project (NEWMAP) for the control of flood and gully erosion in the state.
The state Governor, Martin Elechi, made this known at the weekend during the official launch of the state NEWMAP in Abakaliki, saying the state had been threatened by gully erosion and flood over the years.
He said in the past few years, the menace of gully erosion and flood had increasingly caused untold adversity to the state, including loss of lives, sack of villages and offices, destruction of homes, farmlands and public infrastructure. He commended the World Bank for its quick response to the task of dealing with the menace of erosion and other environmental hazards in the state.
He said: “From inception of rainy season in April to September last year alone, for in­stance, the Ebonyi State Emergencey Management Agency (SEMA) recorded 332,938 victims that were involuntarily displaced by flood. Studies also showed that the total economic loss caused by flooding and erosion problems in the last five years in the state ran into billions of naira, excluding loss of lives.
“May I, therefore, use this opportunity to request the of  ficials of the World Bank and other stakeholders to take time off their schedule to visit some of the major erosion and flood sites in the capital city of Abakaliki to appreciate the ongoing remedial measure we are shouldering in conjunction with the Federal government.”
He stated that the government had contributed the initial N30 million to the dedicated project account, which enabled the preparation stage of the project in the state, approved a counterpart fund of N350 million of which N100 million had been released to the state project management unit and allocated office accommodation. Also the government had signed the subsidiary agreement with the Federal Ministry of Finance, issued project implementation manual acceptance letter to the bank and legal opinion in respect of the project.
Elechi, commended Presi­dent Goodluck Jonathan for the NEWMAP initiative and his quick intervention in the ecological challenges in the South-East geo-political zone, which he described as disaster zone on his assumption of duty. He assured his government would work with all partners and stakeholders to realise the aspirations for which NEWMAP was conceived.