Environment

Iriebe Flooding Records First Casualty …As Community Cries Out For Help

Published

6 years ago

September 23, 2019

Following the death of a middle-aged man caused by flooding in Iriebe Community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, some prominent indigenes of the community are calling for urgent intervention by the authorities to forestall further loss of lives.
Sources informed The Tide that, the deceased who hailed from Akwa-Ibom State, was allegedly bitten by a snake while walking through the water which has continued to rise.
According to the source, some parts of the community had been sacked by the flood with over 2000 persons displaced.
The worst affected areas include, School To Land areas, housing estate area and Shell location road. The rest are; low cost housing estates and the road leading to Umuebulu, trailer park areas around The Adolescent Programme (TAP) and the interlocking road.
Some prominent indigenes of the community who spoke to The Tide on the incident, said more lives may be lost as reptiles have continued to swim around the community.
They also alleged that some private schools in the community have closed down, while health facilities are also affected.
The paramount rulers of Iriebe community, Eze Jeremiah Worenwu, told The Tide that the flooding this time around is the worst in the area.
According to the paramount ruler, the situation is not only serious, but critical stressing that people are leaving the community in droves as a result of the situation.
He said the rising level of water is threatening neighbouring communities of Umuebulu and Igbo Etche, and called for urgent government intervention.
Also speaking, another prominent indigene of the community, Chief (Dr) Godwin Ollah, said Iriebe has been cut off from the rest of the state.
Ollah said there is no road in the community that has not been affected, adding that villagers now see snakes and other reptiles swimming round the community.
He however blamed the situation on the incessant rainfalls, lack of drainages and the on-going construction of the Port Harcourt/Aba express road by the Federal Government. According to him where drainage is higher than the existing surfaces, there is a likelihood that such a place will experience massive flooding.
The community leader who is the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the community, called for government intervention to forestall further loss of lives and property.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said, it would visit the community to undertake assessment of the level of destruction caused by the flood.
South South Zonal Head of NEMA, Mr. Walson Random, told The Tide in a telephone interview that the agency would undertake an on-the-spot assessment of the situation before recommending for relief materials.
Effort to reach the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment proved abortive, as he was said to be out of town.
Meanwhile, the Africa Global Development for Positive Change Initiative (ADI) has called for collaboration between the Rivers State Government and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to save the situation in Iriebe.
The Executive Director of the organisation, Princess Dan Mbachi told The Tide in an interview that the situation at Iriebe demands urgent government attention.
He said that the government should not only take measure to create drainages in the community but sensitise the people on the importance of maintaining a clean environment.

Environment

Etche Community Blames Erosion on poor conditions of its Road

Published

2 weeks ago

November 24, 2025

The Tide

Some stakeholders in Okoroagu community in the Etche Local Government Area of Rivers state have blamed the perennial erosion in the community on the poor conditions of their road.

They are therefore calling for the rehabilitation of their road.

They said this in an interview with The Tide, at okoroagu.

Speaking to The Tide,the Ochimba of Okoroagu community, Eze Marcus Amadi said the poor conditions of their road has retarded the growth and development of the community.

According to Eze Amadi,”The government has neglected us, they have forgotten about us, we have been writing letters to the government, both to the NDDC to come and repair our road for us, we are on our knees pleading to them to come help us out, at least they should just dredge the road for us”

Continuing he said”If the government comes today to repair our road, nobody will say they shouldn’t.

“Nobody will obstruct them. We have been shouting and crying that our road is not good, the road is affecting the community economically and socially in the sense that, there is no way we can carry our crops out because of erosion.

“Erosion have taken over the road, making it difficult for us to access other communities especially during rainfall you see people falling down and getting injured inside the river which we call Mmiri Ehe in our language, which reaches our waist line during raining season. Our people can not go to other market to sell their products due to the bad road”he said

Also speaking,Chairman Community Development Committee( CDC )Okoroagu , Hon. Elvis Nwaobasi decried the situation of the road, stressing that economic activities are being affected as movement of goods and services have gradually slowed down in the area.

” The road have affected our women so badly, they are no longer going to the other neighboring markets to sell their Agric produce because of the nature of the road.

“This road has also affected us in many ways, it has affected our educational system, security system, it has also affected our health system, because with the nature of that road, people cannot access our health facilities in the community, with the nature of that road, people cannot access our school, with nature of the road, people cannot come in and do business in our community, we cannot access the road because of the neglect of the road.

“People are using our road for excuses to come in and invest and do businesses. People who come to our market to buy our products are no longer coming because of the nature of the road.

” I am pleading with the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayig Fubara to please come to the aid of Okoroagu and repair our road. I am pleading with the Rivers State House of Assembly, we are suffering too much because of this road. We have been neglected and abandoned for years, the government should please come to our aid” he said.

Also the women leader of Okoroagu community, Mrs. Anthonia Nweke blamed some politicians from the area for abandoning the people of Okoroagu

“Our road has been abandoned, overlooked, with no attention, mostly the higher politicians of the place, we have been abandoned for years”

She also called on the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC to come to their aid.

The Youth Leader of Okoroagu community, Comr. Ezekiel Michael Ikeh who also spoke to The Tide correspondent said the community has suffered so much losses because of the poor conditions of the road.

He said despite Okoroagu’s contributions to the wealth of the state and the nation, government has continued to neglect the people “Okoroagu as oil producing community shouldn’t have been suffering what they are suffering today”

By: Omasirichi Ogechi

Environment

UNEP REPORT: FG MOVES TO DESIGNATE OGONI WETLAND RAMSAR SITE

Published

2 weeks ago

November 24, 2025

The Tide

In furtherance to the commitment of the Federal Government through the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation (HYPREP) to the full implementation of the recommendations of the UN Environment Programme Report on Ogoni Environment, the Project has commenced processes to designating Ogoni Wetland as a Ramsar Site.

Labaran Ahmed, National Focal Point for Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance and Assistant Director in the Federal Ministry of Environment, who is leading the process for collection of field samples, said the move will converse biodiversity, enhance livelihood, attract ecotourism and further earn global recognition for Ogoni Wetlands.

The UNEP Report envisages that this would provide the Government with a roadmap for restoration and sustainable management of the Ogoni wetland, bring the site unto international among others.

Project Coordinator, Professor Nenibarini Zabbey, represented by Director Technical Services, Professor Damien-Paul Aguiyi said the project further attests to the Federal government’s commitment through HYPREP to implementing the UNEP Report simultaneously.

Nigeria is a signatory to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction(BBNJ) Agreement for how research on marine genetic resources must be conducted and documented, ensuring transparency and the equitable distribution of benefits.

Environment

Tribunal Acknowledges losses in Rare species Across the globe …urges for government Action

Published

2 weeks ago

November 24, 2025

The Tide

The international Right Tribunal has expressed concerned over the continuous loss of rare species across the world.

This was part of a declaration at the just concluded COP30 in Brazil to mark the close of its 6th international tribunal

. Governments and everyday people have been charged to acknowledge that nature has rights just as humans do, and that ecosystems deserve to exist, thrive, and bounce back.

The Tribunal noted that the loss of species is occurring at an alarming rate and that it is time to stop exploiting nature and start protecting it.

The Tribunal urged nations to write laws that protect rivers, forests, oceans, and to end ecocide, recognise and support Indigenous communities, who have always been the best caretakers of the land.

According to the declaration “We are all part of the Earth, an indivisible and living community of interrelated and interdependent beings with a common destiny but with different existential conditions and rights.

“The multiple crises we are experiencing are rooted in the economic, political, legal and social systems established by the industrial and growth-oriented cultures that dominate the world today, including capitalism, along with patriarchy, sexism, racism, and anthropocentrism.”

It was noted that the choice by the Brazilian government to host COP30 serves as a symbol of the importance of the Amazon. They denounced the current and future impacts of the expansion of the extractivist frontier, deforestation, fossil fuels and large-scale mining. It was urged that the Amazon, with its ecosystems, animal, plant species, and rich biodiversity, natural medicines and its vital and reproductive cycles, should be considered as a subject of rights together with the Indigenous Peoples, and other communities that inhabit it.

The co-president and judge of the tribunal, Nnimmo Bassey, while delivering the verdict, noted that the defence of the rights of Nature is the right way to carry out real climate action and that there is no climate justice without the rights of Nature.

The tribunal stressed the need to phase out fossil fuels and quickly move to renewable energy as a way that protects both communities and ecosystems from false solutions that merely benefit financial speculators and compound climate injustices. The Tribunal also urged the United Nations to adopt the pledge as a blueprint for international environmental law.

A copy of the declaration obtained by The Tide revealed that,Judges at the Tribunal included Ana Alfinito of Brazil, Nnimmo Bassey ( Nigeria), Enrique Viale (Argentina), Shannon Biggs (USA), Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation, USA), Tom Goldtooth (USA), Princes Esmeralda (Belgium), Cormac Cullinan (South Africa), Patricia Gualings (Ecuador), Francesco Martone (Italy) Tzeporah Berman (USA), Ashish Katharine (India), Osprey Orielle Lake (USA), Pooven Moodley (South Africa) and Felicio Pontes (Brazil)