Anambra to prioritise erosion control in environmentally responsible communities

By Vincent Ujumadu The Anambra State Government has resolved to prioritise communities that demonstrate environmental responsibility in its interventions to control erosion across the state. The decision was taken at the weekly State Executive Council (EXCO) meeting in Awka, where the government said communities engaging in practices that worsen erosion would no longer receive priority attention.

The prohibited practices include sand excavation, indiscriminate felling of trees, deforestation, dumping of refuse in drainage channels and directing stormwater onto roads. The State Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr Law Mefor, who disclosed this after the meeting, said perpetrators of such practices would also be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.

Anambra has more than 1,000 active erosion sites affecting communities across the state, with experts arguing that addressing the scale of the problem would require federal and international intervention. Also at the meeting, the EXCO directed that Ogbodi in Amichi community, Nnewi South Local Government Area, which was recently cut off by gully erosion, should be reconnected within two weeks through palliative measures.

Mefor said the process of identifying a permanent solution to the erosion problem would commence immediately. The erosion had cut off Ogbodi residents from other parts of Amichi, disrupting access and movement within the community. Meanwhile, the State EXCO approved what it described as the “Soludozie Anambra Framework”, an organised and inclusive platform designed to promote development through the Public-Private-Community Partnership (PPCP) model.

According to Mefor, the initiative is intended to provide a structured channel through which Anambra indigenes at home and in the diaspora, as well as other well-meaning individuals, can partner with the state government to drive development. He explained that under the framework, the government’s role would generally be limited to documentation, recognition and support where requested, while donors and partners would directly manage their funds and projects.

Mefor said the initiative was aimed at positioning Anambra as a model of collective governance and inclusive development, while accelerating the state’s development.