Senate mulls establishment of erosion control commission

A commission charged with the responsibility of preventing and controlling erosion is being created by the Senate.

A bill for the establishment of the commission which passed its first reading yesterday was sponsored by Ifeanyi Ubah (UPP, Anambra State).

According to the piece of legislation, the commission shall “carry out an extensive survey of the extent of gully erosion in the country, manage, control as well as redress and prevent the menace in the country.”

It is also to formulate policies and guidelines for the prevention, control and management of the natural disaster nationwide in addition to advising on balanced and responsible use of land in the country.

The commission is also to conceive, plan and implement in accordance with set rules the prevention, control and management of the threat.

Other functions of the body are to co-ordinate and promote research activities relating to gully erosion control, management and prevention as well as adopt an integrated approach to the physical, biological and socio-economic aspects of the hazard.

Funding for the operations of the commission, according to the bill, “shall come from a fund into which all monies accruable to the commission shall be paid and from which all the activities of the commission shall be funded.”

The piece of legislature further stated: “There shall be paid and credited to the fund all monies in the accounts of the Ecological Fund relating to the states affected by erosion; Federal Government contribution to the Fund of the Commission equivalent of 100 per cent of the total money due to member state of the Commission from the Ecology Fund.”

The commission would be presided over by “an Executive Secretary who shall be appointed by the President.”

In an interview shortly after the first reading of the bill, Ubah the move was to establish a structure that would make the Ecological Fund more accessible to Nigerians in dire need.

“Erosion is a serious environmental menace destroying the property and means of livelihood of my constituents in Anambra South as well as other parts of the nation,” he clarified.