The Director, Centre for Wetlands and Waste Management Studies (CWWMS), University of Uyo (UNIUYO), Akwa Ibom State, Prof. Gabriel Umoh, has blamed the problem of perennial flooding ravaging parts of the state on poor urban design and planning.
Umoh, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the African Human Development Centre (AHDC), said “the agencies of government charged with the responsibilities of managing the environment need to do more to tackle the problem.”
“The infrastructural development of the metropolis without proper layout plan has given rise to the destruction of the natural wetlands in most areas of the state,” he said.
The Professor of Agricultural and Development Economics lamented that “developers are allowed to destroy wetlands and build their structures along natural waterways without taking into consideration the environmental effects of such untoward actions”.
He frowned at the wholesale violation of environmental regulations and blamed town planning enforcement officers for looking the other way while developers turn every available space into construction sites.
According to him, reclamation of natural water territories for buildings aggravate flood problems in the state.
The Ministry of Environment, Uyo Capital City Development Authority (UCCDA) and other relevant agencies, according to him, appeared to have reneged in their regulatory responsibilities, forcing government to incur huge cost running into billions of naira to tackle the scourge.
The professor disclosed that the state government had solicited assistance from the World Bank to the tune of N32 billion to construct underground flood channel that would complement the underground pipe jacking system that was constructed by former Governor Godswill Akpabio.
The state Commissioner for Works, Mr. Ephraim Akparawa Inyang-eyen, when contacted said the flood intervention project would be constructed from the flood-ravaged IBB Way, Uyo, all the way to empty at the neighbouring Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area.
The Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Dr. Iniobong Essien, also expressed worry about the problem, assuring, however, that “the flooding problem along the IBB Way would be tackled in collaboration with the Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP).
He appealed to residents affected by flooding to remain patient as the problem would soon become a thing of the past.
The Commissioner said Governor Udom Emmanuel was committed to addressing the challenges posed by flood, especially on the Uyo metropolis.
