By Abdullahi Lukman
The Federal Government has declared an ecological emergency in the South East following the rapid expansion of gully erosion across the region.
The declaration was made today, November 3, 2026, in Abuja by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, after an emergency session of the National Ecological Council.
Data presented by the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project, NEWMAP-EIB, shows over 2,000 communities in Anambra, Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi are now at risk, with more than 3,000 active gully sites — a 23 percent increase from 2024.
Anambra remains the worst hit, accounting for over 40 percent of the sites, with some gullies expanding by up to 10 metres annually due to heavy rainfall and uncontrolled development.
“We can no longer treat this as a routine environmental issue. What we are witnessing is an existential threat to lives, livelihoods and infrastructure,” Lawal said. “The President has approved immediate intervention under the Ecological Fund.”
Under the emergency, the government will deploy N120 billion for remediation works, resettle families in the most vulnerable areas, and enforce a moratorium on sand mining and indiscriminate tree felling in affected catchments.
Gully erosion has plagued the South East for over four decades, driven by the region’s fragile sandy soil, high-intensity rainfall, and dense population pressure. The problem worsened after the civil war when massive deforestation and unplanned urbanization removed natural vegetation that held the soil together.
In 2012, the Federal Government launched the $900 million World Bank-assisted NEWMAP to address erosion and watershed degradation in 23 states. While the project reclaimed over 50 major gully sites and restored 10,000 hectares of degraded land in its first phase, it closed in 2022 without covering many critical sites in the South East.
Its successor, NEWMAP-EIB, funded by the European Investment Bank, was expected to scale up interventions, but funding delays and rising construction costs have slowed progress, even as climate change brings heavier downpours.
Communities in Nanka, Agulu, Isuikwuato, and Ohafia have become national symbols of the crisis, with some gullies now over 100 metres deep, swallowing homes, schools, and farmlands. In Anambra alone, the state government says it needs over N500 billion to address its erosion backlog.
Environmentalists say today’s emergency declaration is the strongest federal response since 2019 and could unlock the long-delayed release of the Ecological Fund, which states have accused the Federal Government of withholding.
The South East Governors Forum welcomed the move but called for a long-term climate adaptation plan for the region.
Experts warn that without urgent action, the crisis could displace over one million people by 2030 and cut off major highways linking the region to the South South and North Central.
The Ministry said work will begin in 15 priority sites before the end of November.
