Flood ravages A’Ibom community, thousands render homeless

Patrick Ekpo, Uyo

Thousands of residents in Emeroke community in Eastern Obolo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State have been rendered homeless as flood submerged many houses.

The flood was said to have been caused by the Atlantic Ocean that overflowed its shore and with torrent violently pouncing against homes and submerging them.

The flood, which destroyed property estimated at hundreds of millions of naira and makes life miserable for the residents, was also believed to be partly caused by exploratory and exploitative activities of oil companies.

The President of Utoono Of, Barrister Sunday Afiko, told our correspondent on Tuesday that the community has been at the mercy flooding especially during the reason adding that the most devastating one occurred in September,20,2020

He said Emereoke Kingdom is an island, situated by the bank of Okwan Obolo estuary and home to many oil exploration activities, making it susceptible to flooding

The President said however that plea for government’s intervention in the community in terms of provision relief materials and temporary accommodation for displaced Persons have fallen on deaf ears.

In one of the numerous letters written to the commissioner for Environment in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Charles Udoh, and copied to the national and state lawmakers representing the area, Afiko called for urgent Intervention to address the issue flooding in the area

“We the members of Utono Obolo, a Pan -Obolo Social Culture Association with membership spread from Eastern Obolo, Ibeno, Oron Nation and Andoni in Rivers State hereby write to bring to your notice the flooding situation in one of our ancient kingdoms of Obolo land.

“Exploratory and exploitative activities by oil companies within Eastern Obolo, have serious environmental degradation which have led to shortage of marine lives, gully, and sheet erosions, perpetrated by the continuous Atlantic Ocean incursion on the shorelines of Emereoke Kingdom.

“The last straw that broke camel’s back is the bitter experience of Sunday, September 20, 2020, which our people woke up to see that the entire Kingdom has been submerged by water.

“The increase in the tidal waves occasioned by the companies’ crude oil production activities overflowed into the various communities within the kingdom and submerged them.

“As we write properties worth millions of naira are already lost to the flood. Some families are already displaced. There is tension everywhere.

 “This disaster has brought untold hardship and the colossal economy lost upon the people of Emereoke. It is on this premise we write to your esteem office demanding the following intervention measures: The immediate intervention of the Government in the provision of relief materials such as alternative accommodation, or camp and beddings, provision of food materials as the people of Emereoke have lost food items running into Millions of Naira and their sources of livelihood have been destroyed by the flood.

“Provision of the grant to the women of the communities to help recover the loses caused by the flood incidents  and long-term intervention such as shoreline embarkment and protection to forestall future occurrences of such incident”, they lamented.

Patrick Ekpo, Uyo

Thousands of residents in Emeroke community in Eastern Obolo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State have been rendered homeless as flood submerged many houses.

The flood was said to have been caused by the Atlantic Ocean that overflowed its shore with its torrent violently pounced against homes and submerging them.

The flood, which destroyed property estimated at hundreds of millions of naira and makes life miserable for the residents, was also believed to be partly caused by exploratory and exploitative activities by oil companies.

The President of Utoono Of, Barrister Sunday Afiko, told our correspondent on Tuesday that the community has been at the mercy flooding especially during the reason adding that the most devastating one occurred in September,20,2020

He said Emereoke Kingdom is an island, situated by the bank of Okwan Obolo estuary and home to many oil exploration activities, making it susceptible to flooding

The President said however that plea for government’s intervention in the community in terms of provision relief materials and temporary accommodation for displaced Persons have fallen on deaf ears.

In one of the numerous letters written to the commissioner for Environment in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Charles Udoh, and copied to the national and state lawmakers representing the area, Afiko called for urgent Intervention to address the issue flooding in the area

“We the members of Utono Obolo, a Pan -Obolo Social Culture Association with membership spread from Eastern Obolo, Ibeno, Oron Nation and Andoni in Rivers State hereby write to bring to your notice the flooding situation in one of our ancient kingdoms of Obolo land.

“Exploratory and exploitative activities by oil companies within Eastern Obolo, have serious environmental degradation which have led to shortage of marine lives, gully, and sheet erosion, perpetrated by the continuous Atlantic Ocean incursion on the shorelines of Emereoke Kingdom.

“The last straw that broke camel’s back is the bitter experience of Sunday, September 20, 2020, which our people woke up to see that the entire Kingdom has been submerged by water.

“The increase in the tidal waves occasioned by the companies’ crude oil production activities overflowed into the various communities within the kingdom and submerged them.

“As we write properties worth millions of naira are already lost to the flood. Some families are already displaced. There is tension everywhere.

 “This disaster has brought untold hardship and the colossal economy lost upon the people of Emereoke. It is on this premise we write to your esteem office demanding the following intervention measures: The immediate intervention of the Government in the provision of relief materials such as alternative accommodation, or camp and beddings, provision of food materials as the people of Emereoke have lost food items running into Millions of Naira and their sources of livelihood have been destroyed by the flood.

“Provision of the grant to the women of the communities to help recover the loses caused by the flood incidents  and long-term intervention such as shoreline embankment and protection to forestall future occurrences of such incident”, they lamented.