Wukari community hails FG for erosion control project

The Wukari community in Taraba State has commended the federal government for executing flood control and swamp upgrading projects in the community.

An elder in the community, Chief David Sabo Kente, who spoke on behalf of the community during the commissioning of the project in Wukari on Thursday, said the intervention would save lives and protect property from the menace of flooding, which has been a threat to the community for a long period.

He said the area where the project was executed has been experiencing flooding and erosion, which caused damage to farmland and property.

In her address, the Permanent Secretary, Ecological Fund, Hajiya Habiba Lawal, said the project was one of the 18  ecological intervention projects being executed by the federal government to control the menace of flood and erosion.

She explained that the commissioning and handing over of the project to Wukari community was to enable it to exercise its ownership and ensure its maintenance and sustainability.

“Experience over the past years shows  lack of appreciation  of these projects by some benefiting communities in some part of the country  who turn drainage channels into refuse dumps,” she said.

Also, speaking, the Senator representing Taraba Central, Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf said the project was expected to check the menace of flooding and erosion in the community.

“Flooding and erosion in this area have been a major ecological problem and the timely response in addressing the menace by the federal government is a welcome development,” he said.

Senator Yusuf implored the community to guard against indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the drainage channels.