Eket Flood Diaster: Ekid Development Forum (EDF) Blames Poor Waste Management, Negligence 

Eket Flood Diaster: Ekid Development Forum (EDF) Blames Poor Waste Management, Negligence 

…Demands urgent attention

By Assam Abia

Most parts of Eket, the cosmopolitan oil city of Akwa Ibom, were on Saturday submerged by flood following a heavy downpour which lasted for more than 12 hours.

The flooding reportedly destroyed properties worth hundreds of millions of naira, swept away vehicles, collapsed houses and rendered thousands of residents homeless.

Several roads and streets were cut off, while residents of some affected communities were forced to seek refuge in safer locations as floodwaters overwhelmed homes, business premises and other facilities.

The Eket Local Government Council Chairman, Rt. Hon. Akan Tommey , accompanied by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), toured some of the affected areas to assess the extent of the damage and the situation on the ground.

During a separate inspection of affected communities and interaction with victims, members of the Ekid Development Forum (EDF), a socio-political organisation, commended the council chairman for his prompt response to the disaster.

The forum, however, attributed the severity of the flooding partly to poor waste management, indiscriminate disposal of refuse, defective drainage systems, shoddy execution of some road projects and alleged government negligence in environmental management.

Speaking with newsmen, the Vice-President of EDF, Mkpisong Francis Odoro, identified indiscriminate waste disposal, poor workmanship by some road contractors and inadequate government intervention as major factors contributing to the recurring flooding in Eket.

“There is no tangible comprehensive waste disposal system in Eket Local Government. Residents dispose of wastes randomly and carelessly because there is no government policy and legislation that effectively controls waste management,” Odoro said.

He also criticised what he described as poor workmanship by some indigenous contractors handling road projects, accusing some of them of cutting corners in the execution of contracts.

Odoro further expressed concern over the activities of the Eket Local Government Environmental Sanitation Committee, saying that the committee had not been functioning effectively.

He said wastes removed from gutters during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise were often left unattended, allowing them to be washed back into the drainage channels by subsequent rainfall.

“During sanitation on every last Saturday of the month, wastes removed from gutters are allowed to wash back again into the gutters because they are not evacuated on time by the sanitation committee due to lack of modern waste disposal equipment and adequate manpower,” he said.

Odoro appealed to the Akwa Ibom Government, non-governmental organisations and international agencies to urgently provide relief materials and other forms of assistance to victims of the flood.

He, however, pledged the readiness of EDF to collaborate with the local government council and relevant sanitation authorities to improve environmental management and promote a cleaner and safer Eket.

Also speaking, another executive member of the organisation, Mkpisong Jack Daniel Etteh , attributed some of the challenges confronting local government councils in the State to alleged inadequate funding.

Ette alleged that local government councils might not be receiving the full allocations accruing to them from the Federation Account, stressing that inadequate resources could hamper their ability to effectively discharge their responsibilities.

“Reports reaching us indicate that council chairmen do not receive the exact monthly allocation sent to them from the Federation Account. They cannot perform as expected with the paucity of funds at their disposal,” he said.

He also criticised the operations of the Akwa Ibom State Waste Management Agency, describing them as “lopsided” because, according to him, the agency’s operations are concentrated largely in the State capital.

Ette called for the provision of waste bins across communities in the State, strict enforcement of environmental sanitation laws and sustained media campaigns to educate residents on responsible waste disposal.

He said such measures would help discourage indiscriminate dumping of refuse and reduce the risk of flooding during heavy rainfall.

In his remarks, the President of Ekid Development Forum (EDF), Anietie Jacksons , Esq, attributed the disaster partly to what he described as government negligence and urged the government to be proactive on environmental issues, instead of being reactionary after lives and properties are lost, wasted and destroyed.

The learned gentleman urged relevant government agencies to immediately mobilise emergency assistance for victims of the flood, stressing the need for urgent measures to prevent further loss of lives and property.

He also called for the worst-hit areas, particularly Ediam/Udoito Streets, to be declared disaster zones and temporarily cordoned off to vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

According to him, the measure has become necessary because the weather remains unstable, with the possibility of further rainfall worsening the situation in already devastated areas.

The forum urged governments at all levels to treat the Eket flood disaster as an emergency requiring immediate intervention, while developing a comprehensive and sustainable flood-control and waste-management policy for the city.

He further stressed that the immediate rescue, relief and rehabilitation of victims should be complemented by long-term measures to improve drainage systems, waste disposal, environmental sanitation and flood-control infrastructure across Eket.

Residents of the affected communities have continued to count their losses and appeal for urgent government intervention as the full extent of the damage caused by the flood emerges.