Dutse — Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, yesterday warned that unless the National Assembly and the Federal Government intervene urgently, Dutse, the Jigawa State capital, may be swallowed by gully erosion.

Lamido said this in Dutse, while receiving the Senate team, led by Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba.

According to Lamido, gully erosion, which is one of the serious ecological crises facing the state, has eaten so deep into the heart of the state capital that the town could be swallowed by erosion in the next two or three years.

"Because of our front-line status, we are battling with a number of ecological problems. Desertification is a major problem with about 40per cent of our land mass affected. But there are other serious ones.

Drought is a big problem too. But when it rains, we also suffer flooding. But erosion is another big problem. If you go round, you will see how bad it is in the state capital. In fact, in two or three years, Dutse may evaporate, if we don't receive urgent attention," he said.

Lamido said he has made "a lot of noise" over the situation but is yet to receive the urgent help required to fix the problem before it gets out of hand.

He, however, expressed happiness that the Senate committee decided to visit the state to see first hand, some of the challenges faced by the state and implored the team to intervene by passing appropriate resolutions and acting as advocates for urgent intervention.

Earlier, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba said the Senate team was in Jigawa, as part of its 2008 retreat, to visit sites of ecological challenges in the state and appreciate first hand, "the peculiar problems of the area."