Ovedhe Hezekiah – Warri
Hundred of persons in Abari community, Patani local government area of Delta state, have been rendered homeless as a result of intermittent heavy downpour that worsens the flooding situation in the community as over ten houses have been washed away by erosion into the river in the last two weeks.
Speaking to newsmen on the havoc at Abari Town in Patani Local Government Area of Delta State, the National President of Abari Improvement Union, Deacon Peter Pibowei said that 100 of persons are now homeless and many more houses are on the verge of being washed away by devastating erosion if urgent steps are not taken by the appropriate quarters to arrest the situation on time.
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Pibowei disclosed that series of appeals were made to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and other relevant government agencies on the plight of the people of Abari as a result of erosion encroachment and devastations, adding that NDDC made effort when it sent people as far back as May 2019 to assess the job and promised to award the contract for the construction Shoreline Protection and Jetty, but up till now no constructions was carried out.
In his words: “We have also made an appeal to the Delta State Government on the plight of the people of Abari through letters with pictures of devastations but the State Government is yet to respond to our request.
“We have also wrote to the NDDC in 2019 stating all the abandoned projects with pictures of erosion encroachment threatening to wipe out Abari Community.
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“We have reminded them to embark on the construction of the only access road from Abari to Patani, the local government headquarter. Several publications were made to draw the attention of the Federal and Delta State governments to the plight of the Abari community but all to no avail.”
Pibowei therefore appealed to the Federal and Delta State governments to rescue them from being wiped out by the erosion menace devastating the community by constructing Shoreline Protection to put an end to the hardship and devastation caused by erosion and perennial flood.
