Nigeria is currently witnessing the rage of nature. Communities have been sacked by floods across the country. And Anambra state is among the worst-hit.
Flooding has become a seasonal phenomenon, but this year’s case is about the most devastating. Lives and property have been lost to the recent floods which have devastated states across the country.
One lawmaker who has been an advocate for better planning and preventive interventions against floods is Princess Stella Oduah.
Princess Oduah is a ranking member of the Nigerian Senate, representing Anambra North District in Anambra. She was first elected in 2015, and in 2019, she was re-elected to the same office owing to her superlative performance. She is one of the very few women in the senate who have chalked up legislative experience and achievements.
Princess Oduah is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and is currently one of the ranking senators from the southeast. The senator has etched herself into the hearts of many by delivering good representation. She has sponsored impactful bills and motions tailored towards addressing some of the challenges of the southeast, her constituency, and Nigeria.
One of such legislative interventions is the motion on “Construction Of Dams to Remedy the Perennial Flood Disasters in Nigeria”.
Senator Oduah sponsored the motion with a view to tackling this nagging problem.
The construction of dams and ancillaries where excess water will find pathways will be collected, and rechannelled through irrigation for agricultural purposes or deployed for electricity generation has been identified as one of the ways to provide a lasting solution to this problem.
She is pushing the motion further for a bill to permanently address the crisis.
She recently donated food items, clothes, housing materials and other basics to citizens affected by the flood in her constituency.
In addition to the motion on the construction of dams, Senator Oduah has sponsored over 50 motions seeking to address other critical problems like youth unemployment.
Princess Oduah was reported to have introduced the highest number of bills in the ninth senate – with 38 bills between 2019 and 2021. She topped the charts in the ranking of senators with the most bills. In the southeast, she outpaced other senators from the zone, contributing over 35 bills to the aggregate bills from federal lawmakers in the area.
