Reps warns of possible earthquake in Nigeria

The House of Representatives has mandated its Committee on Environment to interface with relevant Federal Government agencies and parastatals, to avert “impending earthquake in Nigeria.”

The lawmakers also requested that the concerned agencies monitor and ascertain the extent to which mining activities, rock blasting and borehole drilling in Nigeria comply with global best practices.

The call followed a motion by Johnson Oghuma (APC, Edo) on the “urgent need to forestall impending earthquakes in Nigeria.”

Oghuma, in a lead debate on the motion, recalled the recent cases of earth tremors at Mpape and Maitama areas of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, which he said had raised fears of imminent earthquake in Nigeria.

The lawmaker recalled the alarm earlier by the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) that communities in four states and Abuja may likely witness earthquakes if necessary monitoring checks were not taken.

In their contributions, Johnson Agbonayinma (APC, Edo) and Abiante Awaji-Inonbek (PDP, Bayelsa) said the earth tremor in Abuja shows the devastating consequences of indiscriminate mining activities across the country.

The motion was unanimously voted and adopted with a call on Federal Government’s agencies to deploy proactive measures to prevent Nigerians from “impending catastrophe.”