The House of Representatives has urged the Executive Arm of Government to declare a State of Emergency on the poor state of infrastructure in all the coastal communities in Nigeria.
It also urged the Ministries of Health and Water Resources to ensure the provision of Basic/Primary Healthcare Services and potable water in all the Coastal Communities.
Government’s Special Intervention
These are part of the resolutions contained in a motion on the Need for Government’s Special Intervention in Improving the Living Standards of Coastal Communities.
Presenting the motion, Mr. Kolade Victor Akinjo expressed concern that despite having an impressive Coastline that spreads to ten States, the infrastructure decadence in coastal communities is alarming.
“Disturbed that despite being surrounded by Water, coastal communities in Nigeria do not have access to potable water and are left to use water polluted with saline or crude oil or even human excrement as their source of water, thereby exposing them to diseases such as cholera and diarrhea to name a few.
“Those communities lack access to basic healthcare, despite the government’s construction or establishment of Rural Healthcare Centers in different Wards all over Nigeria.” Mr. Victor said.
The Nigeria Coastal Zone spreads to ten Coastal States of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Rivers and Imo States, the Coastal States which accounts for about 25% of the nation’s population and is classified into four regions, from West to East namely:
(i) the Barrier Lagoon Coast, which lies between Badagry and Ajumo East in Lekki Town.
(ii) the Transgressive Mud Coast lying between Ajumo and Benin River Estuary in the North-Western flank of the Niger Delta.
(iii) the Niger Delta lying between Benin River in the West and Imo River in the East.
(iiii) the Strand Coast which is at the Nigerian/Cameroon border in the East and Cross River.
Lateefah Ibrahim
