Okon Bassey in Uyo
Construction work has commenced on the collapsed Mkpok Road and other roads in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State that were destroyed by flood water.
The state government remedial work on the roads is in response to the ‘Save Our Souls’ message sent by residents of the affected areas to the State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel.
Reacting, the State Commissioner of Environment and Solid Minerals, Mr. Charles Udoh, said that the work has been handed over to the contractor to commence work.
Udoh said: “There are three roads in that location that we are working on: Mkpok Road, Umana Ndon Street and Isong Udonetort Street by Ediam sSreet. Those are the three erosion sites that his Excellency has approved and work has actually started.
“But we are focusing on Mkpok because it has collapsed. First priority was to get Mkpok fixed otherwise, economic activities will be grounded, while we are working on remedial work at others.”
Heavy rainfall accompanied by flood water had a fortnight ago destroyed the gutter along Mkpok road in Eket, leading to the collapse of the road, thus forcing residents to cry out for government’s intervention.
The distress call caused the governor to approve an immediate intervention and permanent solution to the erosion problems in Mkpok Road by directing the Ministry of Environment and Solid Minerals to immediately commence work in the area.
The all-weather road, Ediam, Idua, Umana Ndon and other adjoining streets in Eket were also being threatened and residents are afraid that as the rains continue, more roads might collapse.
The former Chairman of Mkpok Village Council, Mr. Franklin Udohuyo, described the incident as unfortunate saying the failed road started showing signs of deterioration about a year ago.
According to Udohuyo, the collapsed road has affected both businesses and mobility of people in the area, saying that it is one of the major roads accessing five villages around the area.
“It was very pathetic the failed road started last year and nothing was done about it until recently when the whole thing collapsed.
“If they followed the previous report, it wouldn’t have been to this level but there was negligence on the side of the state government.
“I don’t know how the contractors actually handled the job, I don’t know how the children at Mkpok Primary School will be going to school,” he lamented.
The former council boss revealed that the contractor commissioned by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to construct the road failed to follow the contract specification for the work, adding that the job was done without any Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
Also speaking, Mrs. Uchechi Boniface, a provision store seller along the road, said that she had lost so much money since the road failed on July 9.
Boniface described the road problem as a big challenge to those doing business in the area and appealed to the state government to urgently repair the road for business to thrive.
She said: “I am not making big sales due to the failed road. Majority of my customers live across the other side of the road. I made sales of N100, 000 before in two weeks, but now I cannot make even up to N20, 000. I have experienced big loss because of the bad road.”
Boniface decried the incessant pot-hole across Eket Local Government Area, saying the bad portions of the roads posed dangers to inhabitants of the area and road users.
Speaking on the issue, the National Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Safety Engineers (NISafetyE), Mr. Akaniyene Ekong, said he had warned the relevant government agencies of the impending gully erosion disaster in many parts of Eket.
Ekong said: “NISafetyE saw it coming and notified the government when we went to the location. The first thing we did was to put physical signage on the road to alert passers-by, pedestrians and drivers in Eket.
“The problem started when canals were opened and the velocity of the volume of the water increase due to bad contractor.
“That actually washed off the embankment and the solid layers would be washed off and eventually caved in.”
He stated that the idea of opening up waterways to prevent flooding was a good intention but then, the right measures were not put in place.
He stated that the flood has destroyed houses and property worth millions of Naira but no life was lost, adding that the road had caused untold hardship to the people of Eket and its environs.
“We can imagine the hardship pupils of the nearby school are going through because of the failed road in Mkpok axis. The road should be closed for now while remedial measures are put in place,” Ekong posited.
