The Senate on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to reclaim and protect shorelines at Anyama, Twon-Brass, Odioama and Sangana communities devastated by coastal erosion in Bayelsa state.
To that end, the Senate called on the Federal Ministries of Environment and Niger Delta, Ecological Fund Office, and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to urgently evaluate the extent of damage, and also initiate and execute shorelines reclamation and protection projects at the affected communities.
It further urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide relief materials to the affected communities.
The Senate reached the resolutions after it adopted a motion sponsored by Senator Degi-Ermienyo Biobarakuma (PDP-Bayelsa East) .
Presenting the motion, Biobarakuma noted that the menace of coastal erosion was threatening the existence of coastal communities in Baylesa state.
According to him, “the issue of coastal erosion has not been adequately addressed by successive administration both at the federal and state levels from our nation’s independence till date.
“Several communities in Bayelsa east senatorial district had been washed away due to neglect and lack of attention to deal with the devastation of coastal erosion .
“Anyama, Twon-Brass, Odioama and Sangana communities in Brass and Ogbia local government areas in Bayelsa east senatorial district had experienced coastal erosion to the extent of their shorelines receding from 100 to 300 into the communities over the years.
“The menace has currently created serious ecological disasters and untold social and economic to people of the communities as their homes, farmlands, economic trees, vital government establishments such as roads, schools, churches, SME – cottage industries and other critical infrastructures are been washed away.
“In some cases even crude oil and gas facilities, especially pipelines along communities’ shorelines are not spared from coastal erosion thereby constituting great danger to the host communities”.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
