(NAN) The senate on Tuesday considered a bill to address the problem of erosion in Nigeria, with special focus on the South-East geo-political zone.

The bill which scaled the second reading seeks to establish the Erosion Control and Prevention Commission.

Sen. Ifeanyi Ubah, (YPP– Anambra South), who sponsored the bill, said the establishment of a commission for the purpose of erosion control and prevention had become imperative given the catastrophic impact of erosion in several parts of the country.

“Almost every part of the country is characterized by one environmental problem or the other. However, the menace of erosion is unarguably the severest in terms of devastation and destruction.

“For instance, the 2012 flooding in Ibadan, Oyo State, the coastal erosion in Lagos, Bayelsa and Rivers States and almost all parts of Anambra State.

“It is also important to note that gully erosion is almost taking over the entire landmass of the South-East and South-South.

“The problem of erosion is catastrophic in the southern part of Nigeria, while desertification is in the North but with the enactment of the Green Wall Act by the National Assembly, the issue of desertification was laid to rest.

“In the southern part of the country, erosion is responsible for the widespread destruction of transportation and communication systems, degradation of arable land, contamination of water supply, isolation of settlements and migration of communities.

“From available statistics, more than 3,500 gullies occurred in the South-East states alone. These gullies are formed by surface runoff from localized rainfall of high intensity in the fine-to coarse-grained sand and sandstones,” Ubah said.

Also citing a World Bank survey carried out on Nigeria in 1990, the lawmaker stressed that “erosion is one of the three main environmental problems facing Nigeria.”

According to him, the study notes that gully erosion causes damage with an annual cost to the nation, estimated at N800 billion naira.

Sen. Ajayi Boroffice (APC – Ondo North), in his contribution, kicked against the establishment of a commission for the purpose of erosion control in the South-East.

According to Boroffice, who is the Deputy Senate Leader, an amendment of the Ecological Fund to accommodate the erosion problems in the South-East would address all challenges faced by the zone.

Sen. Rochas Okorocha (APC – Imo West), said the commission when established, would not only address the erosion challenges faced by the South-East but also every other part of the country affected adversely by such environmental challenge.

Sen. Ibrahim Gobir (APC – Sokoto East), argued that creating a commission would be a burden on government, particularly at a time government was trying to cut down cost.

Gobir advocated the need for the adoption of preventive measures through the introduction of legislation by the National Assembly.

In his remarks, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, said, “the debate tended to sway whether we need a commission or not but the fact is we have to address the ecological challenges we have in the country.

“If we have gully erosion that is destroying lands in various parts of the country, especially in the South-East, then we have to do something, whether it is a commission or not.

“I believe that there are ecological challenges in other parts of the country.

“Coastal erosion is also a strong challenge in the Nigerian coastal environment, just as desertification is a big problem in the northern part of the country.

“I want to say that the Green Wall Project actually is not desertification control. It is simply afforestation. Desertification control should be much more comprehensive than that.

“Similarly, when we have gully erosion, it is just not about stopping the erosion. There are other things that need to be done beyond stopping it because communities’ livelihoods are affected. So, you need to have something comprehensive.

“As representatives of the people, we should be looking at how we really deal with these issues.

“The ecological fund office is there. Do we transform through legislation the ecological fund office, instead of just leaving money there?  Sometimes, we know where the money goes, which is to non-ecological issues.

“Can we make the ecological fund office to be responsible for all ecological issues and then take it as one institution that will address desertification and other ecological problems like gully erosion and so on.

”Can we do that in the light of the arguments of our colleagues or do we need separate agencies to address the various issues.

“We must ensure that government attends to these ecological problems because people are affected.

”Like Sen. Rochas Okorocha said, people lose their lands, properties and villages and this is not something that we should be arguing about as to whether we need a commission or not.

”How do we address the problems as quickly as possible to safeguard our communities?,” Lawan asked.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bill after scaling second reading was referred by the senate president to the Committee on Environment.

Other bills which also scaled second reading on the floor during plenary are the Bill for an Act to Provide for the Establishment of the National Transport Commission as an Independent Multi-Modal Economic Regulator for the Transport Industry.

Bill for an Act to amend the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency Act.

The bills which were sponsored by Senators Abdulfatai Buhari and Gershom Bassey were also referred by the senate president to the Committees on Land Transport and Petroleum (Downstream).

The committees are expected to report back to the senate in four weeks. (NAN)