By all standards, these are not the best times for the residents of Obogoro community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State as their houses, properties and farmlands are being steadily chopped off by a surging erosion.

They have again appealed to the state and federal governments for urgent intervention as the severe riverbank erosion continues to claim lives and destroy homes as well as public infrastructure.

The residents reiterated their concerns when the Technical Adviser to the Bayelsa State Governor on Environment One, Comrade Alagoa Morris, visited the community following renewed calls for intervention over the environmental crisis that has plagued the community for over a decade.

Some residents and victims, including Chibuzo Onuoha, Mewunike Amagbopere and Asegboga Samuel affirmed that the erosion had displaced families, claimed lives and submerged large parts of the community.

President of the Epie-Atissa People’s Congress, Comrade Obesi Otasome Benjamin, described the situation as worse than portrayed on social media and appealed for urgent action, warning that more buildings were at risk of collapse.

The secretary of the Ijaw National Congress, (INC) Atissa Clan, and indigene of Obogoro, Chief David Igwele, took the team round the affected areas, including a boat tour to highlight the extent of the devastation.

He called for the immediate reopening of a natural river channel linking the River Nun to the Ekole River to reduce further destruction, saying about five hundred buildings and several public facilities had been lost, while six people, including children, had reportedly died as a result of the erosion.

Responding, the technical adviser to the governor on environment, Alagoa, described the destruction in Obogoro as unprecedented.

He added that the state government was aware of the environmental challenges facing communities across the state, stressing the need for an Environmental Impact Assessment to guide appropriate intervention, while also supporting the community for immediate relief to prevent further destruction.

The human rights and environmental activist also commended governor Douye Diri for establishing the Directorate of Flood and Erosion Control to address the twin environmental challenges in the state.

He added that the Obogoro erosion crisis fell within the directorate’s mandate, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment.