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The Senate Tuesday urged the federal government to urgently provide shoreline protection for Obogoro community in Yenagoa Local Government Area (LGA) of Bayelsa state after erosion and flooding displaced about 300 residents.
It also called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide relief materials to affected residents, warning that continued erosion threatened homes, public infrastructure, livelihoods and the community’s ancestral land.
The resolutions followed a motion sponsored by Senator Benson Konbowei (Bayelsa Central) who said decades of erosion had devastated the community, washing away school buildings, a school field and a playground.
Konbowei said residents had repeatedly appealed to the Federal Government, the National Assembly and oil companies operating in the area for assistance, but a lasting solution had yet to be provided.
He urged the Ecological Project Office, the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Niger Delta Development Commission to provide urgent shoreline protection.
Seconding the motion, Senator Osita Ngwu (Enugu West) , called for effective implementation of Senate resolutions, warning that repeated motions without concrete action would do little to address the plight of affected communities.
Ngwu, who said he had worked in the area during his career in the oil and gas industry, said the severity of the crisis was evident.
He said, “If you search Obogoro community on your phone, what are they known for? Google will tell you that Obogoro is known for erosion crisis. That is how bad it is.”
He argued that relief materials alone would not solve the problem, as residents would continue to lose their homes and livelihoods unless the erosion was checked.
Ngwu urged the Senate to identify critical erosion sites nationwide and establish a mechanism to monitor the implementation of its resolutions.
Senator Victor Umeh, (Anambra Central) also called for stronger oversight, urging the Senate Committee on Administrative Compliance to monitor government agencies responsible for implementing the resolutions.
Similarly, Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) urged Senate President Godswill Akpabio to engage the Ecological Fund Office, the Niger Delta Ministry and the Budget Office to secure funding for the project.
Ningi, who said he visited the community about nine years ago while serving in the House of Representatives, called for a lasting solution that would go beyond emergency relief to include shoreline protection and erosion control.
He suggested that the project be considered in the 2027 budget if funding could not be secured in the current fiscal year.
Akpabio expressed concern over the environmental challenges confronting communities in the Niger Delta, including erosion, flooding, pollution and the loss of habitable land.
He said the scale and cost of the proposed shoreline protection in Obogoro required Federal Government intervention, noting that the NDDC might not have the capacity to undertake the project alone.
Linking the crisis to the effects of climate change and rising water levels, the Senate president warned that vulnerable communities risked being wiped out without urgent intervention.
He said, “Climate change is not only real, but it is depleting the waters on the land, like what is happening in Lake Chad, but at the same time wiping off communities.”
Akpabio backed calls for closer monitoring of Senate resolutions, proposing that members of the Senate leadership oversee implementation and report progress to the chamber.
Senator Ireti Kingibe, representing the Federal Capital Territory, supported the proposal, saying the involvement of the Senate president, deputy Senate president or Senate leader could strengthen compliance by government agencies.
Akpabio subsequently urged committee chairmen to use the Senate’s constitutional powers to ensure that government officials complied with its decisions, including through established procedures for summoning officials.
The Senate adopted the additional prayer requiring its leadership to follow up on the resolution and urged the Federal Government and relevant agencies to provide shoreline protection for Obogoro, while directing NEMA to deliver relief materials to residents displaced by erosion and flooding.
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