By Olugbenga Salami
The Senate on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to urgently release funds from the Ecological Fund to tackle gully erosion and landslides threatening communities in Cross River South Senatorial District.
The resolution followed a motion of urgent national importance by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South) on the ecological emergency in Calabar metropolis and adjoining communities.
Ekpenyong listed affected communities as Atakpa, Edim Otop, Ikot Effangha Mkpa, Nyaghasang, Ikot Anwatim, Nasarawa/Bacoco, Akai Effa, Bayside and Summit Hills, with landslides threatening Anansa.
He said the disasters had caused deaths, displacement and destruction of property, leaving families traumatised and survivors struggling to rebuild.
The lawmaker recalled that a July 2026 landslide at Ikot Anwatim killed five persons, including four siblings from one family, destroyed two houses and injured two residents.
Another landslide at Edim Otop, he said, claimed the life of an eight-year-old girl.
Ekpenyong lamented that parents had buried children while survivors lost homes and livelihoods, with unstable slopes still threatening more communities.
He blamed poorly designed drainage, rapid urbanisation, blocked drains, indiscriminate waste disposal, unregulated sand mining, vegetation removal and poor land-use practices.
The senator warned that isolated remedial projects without coordinated watershed planning could transfer erosion risks to neighbouring areas.
“Further delay risks additional deaths, deeper displacement and greater destruction. This emergency demands immediate mobilisation of federal resources, including the Ecological Fund,” he said.
He called for temporary shelter, food, medical and psychosocial support for victims, and safe evacuation for residents in imminent danger.
In his contribution, Senator Sampson Ekong (Akwa Ibom South), sympathised with the people of Cross River South and backed urgent intervention.
The Senate urged the Federal Government to approve, allocate and release adequate resources for emergency stabilisation and comprehensive remediation.
It also asked the Federal Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with Cross River Government and relevant agencies, to assess dangerous sites and commence emergency protective works.
The upper chamber directed the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, the State Emergency Management Agency and local councils to provide immediate assistance to bereaved and displaced families.
It further called for early-warning systems and continuous monitoring of unstable sites to enable timely evacuation, urging Ministries of Environment and Works to prioritise erosion-control projects in Cross River with proper geotechnical and hydrological assessments.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio mandated the Senate Committee on Environment to assess affected locations and existing interventions, engage responsible agencies on funding and implementation, and report back for further legislative action.
