Obaseki launches Edo FEWMA, recommits to environmental sustainability

Edo state Governor Godwin Obaseki says contractors executing projects without collaborating with the state government for approval of job specifications will not be allowed anymore.

He disclosed this in Benin while launching the State flood And Erosion Watershed Management Agency FEWMA.

In 2010 the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project, NEWMAP was established following the request for assistance made by President Goodluck Jonathan to the World Bank to tackle severe gully erosion in some parts of the country..

The NEWMAP in collaboration with the Edo state government since it’s inception has been able to reclaim some damaged gully erosion areas in the state..

The completion of NEWMAP project in Nigeria is the reason for the launch of the Edo State flood and Erosion Watershed Management Agency to tackle gully erosion.

The Edo FEWMA is a new agency established by the state government to sustain the gains recorded in erosion control and flood management started under the World Bank-assisted Edo State Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (Edo NEWMAP).

Addressing guests at the event held at the Government House, Benin City with the theme, “Metamorphosis from Edo NEWMAP to Edo FEWMA: Enhancing Landscape and Restoring Livelihoods,” Obaseki said his government remains committed to environmental sustainability and land management.

Governor Godwin Obaseki, as part of the launch, unveiled the state’s new engineering design capabilities to accelerate the process of interventions in flood and erosion as well as PikAmSel, an App developed to facilitate the government’s efforts at addressing the menace of plastic and aluminum can wastes, which pose serious floods and drainage problems and constitute an immense threat to the functionality of storm water infrastructure, moats, and other drainage systems in the state.

The Chief Executive Officer of Edo FEWMA, Dr. Tom Obaseki noted, “Edo State was the only state that triggered the effectiveness of NEWMAP. A total of 23 states participated in NEWMAP in the last 10 years and in all of these, Edo State did not only come first in the achievements of the projects, but while it was expected for the states to have contributed 4.2 percent, Edo state contributed 17 percent of the overall success of NEWMAP in Nigeria.”

This newly launched agency is meant to sustain the positive impact of NEWMAP in the state.