Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State, has declared a state of emergency on environmental degradation, ordering the immediate desilting of drainage channels across the state and a crackdown on indiscriminate sand mining to curb worsening flooding and gully erosion.
Speaking at the meeting of the Anambra State Traditional Rulers' Council in Awka, Soludo described environmental degradation as the greatest existential threat facing the state, warning that unchecked human activities were accelerating the loss of land to erosion and flooding.
"Let me draw your attention to the emergency that we face: the environment, flooding, and gully erosion. It is Anambra's number one existential threat," the governor said.
"While Lagos is expanding into the ocean, Anambra is shrinking. Whole communities are being swallowed, and we are battling it. If we devote the entire state budget for the next ten years, we will not be able to significantly scratch the surface of this threat."
The governor directed the immediate desilting of drainage systems across the state and warned against indiscriminate sand mining, saying the activities were worsening erosion and flooding.
"We blocked the drainages; there should be a state of emergency in desilting all the drainages. Even people that mine sand contribute to this, because as the sand is being removed, it creates an avenue for erosion. We have our duties to protect our environment," he said.
Soludo also expressed concern over the practice of channeling residential runoff onto roads and dumping refuse into drainage channels, describing such actions as major contributors to environmental degradation.
On governance reforms, the governor said the recent Supreme Court judgment on autonomous communities had provided legal clarity for the state to strengthen community administration.
According to him, the government will introduce a Community Administration Law that will clearly define communities within each local government area and address disputes surrounding the operations of town unions.
"The new Supreme Court judgment on autonomous communities in Anambra State settles the matter. Our community administration law will have a schedule of communities that make up a local government, and it will address most of the areas regarding the tensions currently surrounding town unions," Soludo said.
He noted that although town unions currently serve as the governing structures in many communities, they remain voluntary associations, resulting in multiple rival unions in some towns.
"Currently, our communities are being governed by town unions, but ideally, they are voluntary associations—that is why you have three separate town unions in some places. When we are done, communities will become the fourth tier of government," he said.
Reflecting on his administration's progress, the governor said Anambra had moved beyond the emergency conditions that greeted the beginning of his first term and assured residents that his government would continue to pursue its development agenda.
"In the first term, I just stood in front of my office and took the oath because we were in a state of emergency then, different from now. I want to assure you that we will keep working to deliver on the mandate. Let's continue to push for the new Anambra. New Anambra is on the rise; we are on course," he said.
Soludo called on traditional rulers to mobilise their communities to keep drainage channels free of refuse and support government efforts to enforce environmental regulations across the state.
Among those present at the meeting were the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr Ben Nwankwo; the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Barr. Vin Ezeaka; and the Chairman of the Anambra State Traditional Rulers' Council, Igwe Chidubem Iweka, among other traditional rulers and government officials.
Tags:#Anambra State#Chukwuma Soludo#Environment
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