Edo assembly wants housing estates for flood victims

The Edo House of Assembly has passed a resolution urging the State Government to collaborate with the Federal Government toward building housing estates on higher ground for people living in flood prone areas in the state. This followed the adoption of a motion by Mr Ahmed Oshioma (APC Etsako Central), under matters of urgent public importance on the perennial flooding in Osomhegbe, Udaba, Ofukpo, Agbabu, Udochi and Anegbette communities. Moving the motion, Oshioma said it had become necessary to find a permanent solution instead of the regular palliatives, which he said, in most cases do not get to the victims. “Since 2012, the six coastal communities have been suffering from massive flood problem, which destroyed human lives, livestock and farm produce. “In August 2022, flood destroyed completely the entire farm produce of the communities leaving the people empty without food and nothing to pay school fees. “The people are, as we speak, experiencing untold hardship following the devastating flood that has ravaged the communities in Etsako Central, Etsako East and Esan South East, among others,” he said. Oshioma called on both the government to address the flooding ravaging the communities by evolving a lasting solution. He also called on the government to provide relief materials to the victims in all the communities affected by the disaster. Also speaking, Mr Donald Okogbe(PDP Akoko-Edo11), while amending the consequential motion, added that the speaker should lead a delegation to the affected communities to plead with them to move from the flood prone areas to higher ground. Other lawmakers who spoke, sympathised with the communities and called for a holistic approach to solving the problem. They urged Senators and House of Representatives members from the state to draw the attention of the federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to the plight of the victims of flood in the state. The speaker, Mr Blessing Agbebaku, who summed up deliberations, called on the federal government to convert the funds for fuel subsidy palliatives into building housing estates for flood victims. Agbebaku thereafter directed that clean copies of the resolution be forwarded to relevant authorities for action. Meanwhile, the house received a bill for a law to amend the Edo state Skill Development Agency law, 2019 to enable it to generate revenue by providing consultancy services to the public for consideration.(NAN)