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By Chinelo Obogo
Member represeting Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta Oru Federal Constituency of Imo, Kingsley Uju-Chima, has said that over 80,000 people have been affected by flooding in his constituency while some infrastructure including roads have been washed away by the flood.
Uju- Chima who is Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Public Procurement, underscored the need to declare a state of emergency on the ravaging flood.
He said the house would not hesitate to give consideration to executive for funding of such emergency.
He said: “With all fairness, my place is in trouble now. The greater percentage of two of the local government areas of my constituency have been submerged by flood and several residents, settlements, homes, farms have been chased away by flood. The last time we had this type of flood should be in 2012.
“We have never had it this bad where the flood has even cut off the road entering Rivers to Imo , precisely the Ibocha bridge which has been taken over by the flood.
“This afternoon, we just got information that the water has crossed Abacheke road and that the whole of Epoma (Ogada) has been chased away, leaving several communities and settlements across the shoreline of Omachi river submerged by the flood,” he said.
While affirming that the level of socio-economic damage caused by the flood was enormous to his constituents who are agrarians, Uju- Chima maintained that the level of damages cannot be quantified financially.
“As I speak, so many farms have been consumed completely, not just water but ocean has ceded most of these farms into their occupation. Considering the loss, the damage, the effect both on the GDP of my people and above all the hardship that this will actually bring to the people, I am using this medium to call on the Federal Government, the state government to come to the rescue of my people to see how they can help my people.
“We cannot fold our hands and watch our people die because of flood; I know very well that we spend so much money to curb insecurity, we spend so much money to attend to other emergencies, but this one is an emergency with a difference. This one you are not running with any of your belongings and running away leaving your belongings, things you suffered over years to acquire,” he said.
While stressing the need to find lasting solutions to the recurring cases of flooding across the country, the lawmaker urged the Federal Government to re-channel into the Atlantic Ocean whenever the Dam is going to be opened by the neighbouring countries, adding that “the moment you know you want to open the dam, you don’t allow other people from other areas to be at the receiving end.
“For the fact you know that the dam is going to be opened and the water will overflow, you find a way; as we are opening, another channel is taking up the excess water and that will empty straight into the Atlantic Ocean or any Ocean within the locality and that will out a stop to every year crisis. We know from August we begin to experience flooding to January., losing a lot of properties to flood,” he said.
