By Sandra Kenneth
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) has submitted a five-year Integrated Flood Management Master Plan (2026–2031) to the Executive Governor of Rivers State, urging immediate government action to tackle severe flooding across Port Harcourt and surrounding local government areas.
The proposed master plan addresses recurring flood crises in Port Harcourt, Obio/Akpor, Ikwerre, Etche, Oyigbo, and Eleme. According to the advocacy group, the primary drivers of the environmental challenge include blocked drainage channels, unauthorized structures erected on waterways, neglect of regular desilting, and the ongoing impacts of climate change.
To mitigate the threat, YEAC-Nigeria outlined a eight-point intervention strategy:
Comprehensive flood mapping and risk assessment
Emergency desilting of 45 kilometers of critical drainage channels
Construction of five major flood retention basins
Installation of real-time early warning sensors
Restoration of coastal ecosystems through the planting of one million mangroves
Establishment of a dedicated Environmental Marshals task force
Creation of a Rivers State Flood Resilience Fund
Enactment of a dedicated Rivers State Emergency Management Agency (RSEMA) law
In a statement signed on Tuesday by the Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, the group appealed directly to the state executive to review and formally adopt the roadmap.
“We urge the Governor to urgently approve this plan, release N1.2 billion in emergency funds for immediate desilting operations, and convene a state flood summit to coordinate stakeholder response,” Fyneface stated, calling on the public and media to support advocacy for prompt implementation.
