Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia
The Abia State Government has rushed in to offer help to the people of Ogbor community and residents of Ovom Street in Aba North Local Government, following a save-our-soul (SOS) message over gully erosion menace in the area.
Residents of the erosion-devastated area said that many houses had already been swallowed by the gully erosion while over 3,000 houses are under the threat of caving into the gully thereby sacking the entire community.
The people in the erosion prone areas are presently in desperate situation as gully erosion threatens to swallow everything as the ground keeps caving in under the pressure of flood water.
The strident cries from the people have attracted the attention of the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Aba Rejuvenation, Mr. Uche Ukeje, who visited the massive erosion site on Wednesday.
Ukeje expressed sympathy with those affected by erosion menace and assured them of government’s readiness to halt the progress of the gully erosion.
He told journalists after inspecting the erosion site that the impact of the erosion on the community was massive, adding that he would relay his findings to the Abia State Governor, Mr. Alex Otti, for prompt action.
He noted that there was need for urgent intervention by the state government to save the community from further losses.
The SSA on Aba Rejuvenation stated that the state government would be seeking the support of relevant federal government and global agencies to permanently address the erosion challenge.
He said that it was unlikely that the state alone could bear the financial burden needed to fund a project that would control the erosion given the magnitude of the havoc it has done to the community.
“The scale of destruction as you can see here is massive. We will get other organs of government involved to make sure that help comes as soon as possible,” the SSA said.
He noted that it was only an insensitive government that would have allowed the erosion menace to snowball into its present devastating dimension, adding that the Otti’s administration is compassionate and would intervene without delay.
“This problem has lingered before this administration. We are going to look at the remote cause of this to know how to permanently bring this to an end. We will trace the cause and find a lasting solution to the flood menace in this community,” Ukeje assured the affected community.
The President Aba Chamber of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture (ACCIMA), Mr. Jerry Kalu, said that his attention was drawn to the erosion menace by residents and indigenes of the area.
He called on the lawmakers representing the area at state and federal levels to liaise with both the state and the federal governments to find lasting solution to the erosion menace.
