Ocean Surge: RSG Seeks Special Place In Dev Funding

The Rivers state Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has called on the Federal Government to treat the state as a special zone in view of its vulnerability to Ocean Surge and other natural disasters.
Governor Amaechi, who spoke at the grand Finale of this year’s World Environment celebration Day in Port Harcourt, said that some communities in the state were on the brink of being submerged due to rising sea level.
The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Empowerment and Employment Generation, Dr. Ipalibo Harry also condemned the use of dynamites by fishermen to kill fish.
He also condemned the continuous use of tyres to roast meat by abattoir operators, and urged environment health officers to rise up to check the trend.
Also speaking, the Chairman, Rivers State House of Assembly Committee on Envrinment, Hon. Victoria Nyeche called on the state governor to sign the Rivers State Waste Management Bill into law.
Hon.Nyeche, who was the Chairman of the occasion, said that the theme of this year’s celebration, “Small Island.
Developing States (SID’S) must be localized to reflect the challenges posed by climate change on the state.
She said that both the government and all the stakeholders must use the celebration to repair the damages done to the environment as failure to do that would be a sign of defeat.
According to her, saving the environment must be a collective effort as the government alone cannot do everything.
In his keynote address, a professor emeritus, Professor Winston Bell-Gam called for the construction of sea walls to prevent water from destroying communities in the state.
Bell-Gam also said that government must work with international partners to check the effect of climate change on the state.
Earlier, the state Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Nyema Weli, said that the human race was guilty of the changing climatic conditions across the globe.
Weli said that this situation has underscored the need to reduce carbon emission into the atmosphere as well as ensure proper refuse disposal in our communities and urban centres.

Vice President Namadi Sambo (left), with the Minister of Works, Mr Mike Onolememen, at the opening of the First International Road Federation Africa Regional Congress in Abuja, last Wednesday