Environmental Degradation: Senate resolute in addressing flooding, gas flaring — Nwoko

Sen. Ned Nwoko, (PDP-Delta), the Senate Vice Chairman on Environment, has disclosed that the Senate was resolute in addressing environmental degradation in the country.
Nwoko, representing Delta North Senatorial District, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja on Sunday.
He noted that the major issue of environmental degradation was erosion which hugely affected his home state, Delta, particularly the North Senatorial District.
He said another major issue was flooding, affecting more than 13 states across the country and five local government areas in the Delta North Senatorial District.
He added that another issue of environmental degradation had to do with pollution.
According to him, pollution is caused by reckless disposal of waste all over the place, and pollution from gas flaring that is hazardous to the environment and the people’s health.
“Then you have a pipeline, that is crude oil, pipeline vandalism and the spillage when they are vandalised.
“The spillage, when Navy and Air Force personnel bomb illegal crude vessels and the spillage that comes from such destruction, or even when our joint task forces, you know, seek to stop illegal refining by some locals.”
Nwoko disclosed that starting with the erosions, the Senate was already dealing with the issue.
“We have done some compilations of such sites and they have been put in the next budget to address them as a matter of urgency because some lives are threatened, homes are threatened, some villages are cut off.
“But of course, the flooding is a major issue because when it comes annually, it devastates the entire surrounding communities.
“We have made it clear now to the president that two things must be done to avoid this annual crisis that we know is going to happen, yet we wait for it to happen without doing anything about it.
“So those two things must be done at a huge cost and it doesn’t matter about the cost because the governments are in the business of spending money for the well-being and welfare of the people.
“So if we don’t have the money to complete the dam that was already started some years ago up north, this dam was meant to accommodate the spilled water from the Cameroonian dams.