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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Member of the House of Representatives, representing Ogbaru Federal Constituency of Anambra State Afam Victor Ogene has decried government’s dismal preparedness to tackle the devastating flood ravaging his constituency.
Ogene, in a statement, on Thursday, in Abuja, said the flood disaster in Ogbaru Federal Constituency have submerged communities, destroyed several farms and washed away roads in the area.
According to him, the recurrent flooding in Ogbaru has severely damaged the Onitsha-Atani-Ossomala-Ogwuikpele-Ndoni Road, which is the only road that connects the 15 communities in Ogbaru Local Government Area/Federal Constituency of Anambra state to the rest of the state; and a shorter route to Rivers state from Anambra.
He added that the flood also destroyed the economy of the area in multi dimensional ways, even when Ogbaru has not recovered from the devastating impact of the 2022 flooding season.
The lawmaker, is also the chairman, House Committee on Renewable Energy, said
government’s alleged lacklustre approach to the perennial flood disaster in his area is troubling. He lamented that despite of the annual flood outlook released by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), which indicated that there would be massive floods around the nation this year, governments at federal and subnational levels are often caught napping.
“It is disturbing that the only visible remedial pronouncement by relevant government agencies, so far for the expected 2023 incident, is the warning that residents of flood-prone areas should move to uplands, with no physical plan, structure or logistics to make this pronouncement realistic, in order to avert the kind of horrendous rate of fatalities and destruction of property and economic activities in the projected 28 flood-prone states across the nation.
“The people in Ogbaru Local Government Area/Federal Constituency, are predominantly farmers who currently experience grave difficulties in transporting their produce to the market, or for other social activities, thereby hurting the economy and social lives of the people, and also impacting adversely on their usual contribution to the nation’s food security, as a result of the deplorable condition of the road, damaged by flooding.
“For instance, one of the business concerns impacted by the current flood incident is a multi-billion-naira automated farm, Matucci Farms Limited located at Agbobo Umuoga Ossomala community, belonging to Sir (Dr) Patrick Sule Ugboma, who disclosed that the farm suffered a huge setback in it’s resuscitation efforts. In 2012, the farm lost about 25,000 poultry birds to flood in the area, while properties worth several millions of naira were also destroyed.
“This particular investment, like many others, has now been forced to shut down, leading to loss of over 400 jobs of the employees, who are mostly youths from the state. The flood has also sadly destroyed schools, houses and property, leaving on its trail, sorrow and despondency,” Ogene stated.
Consequently, he called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs), to urgently come to the rescue of flood victims in Ogbaru, by providing required facilities and materials that would mitigate the plight of the people.
