Members of Ebem Ohafia Development Union have spent over N400 million on erosion sites in the community, saying the menace had gone beyond its financial capacity.
The union stated this at a meeting between the community and the Abia State House of Assembly Committee on Environment, Urban Renewal and New Map in Ohafia, Ohafia local government area.
Addressing the committee, the second assistant general secretary, Kalu Ogboso Nnoke, appealed for urgent intervention to arrest the situation before it degenerates further.
Similarly, the traditional ruler of the community, Eze Ukoha Kalu Ukoha, lamented that the menace had left many people homeless and devastated farmlands.
Represented by the prime minister, Kalu Okorie, the monarch stressed the need for a quick response and thanked the committee “for inspecting the sites firsthand.”
He urged Governor Alex Otti, the federal government and intervention agencies to rescue the area before it is washed away by the flood.
In a response, the committee chairman, Kalu Mba Nwoke, expressed concern over the environmental challenge, describing “the sites as not only extensive but deathtraps as well.”
“We’ve seen and noted your plight and will report the same to the House in detail for necessary action,” the lawmaker representing Ohafia South constituency. said
In a welcome address, the council’s mayor, Eleanya Ojuu Kalu, lamented the erosion menace but expressed the hope that the visit would provide a lasting solution.
The erosion sites are at Ekeluogo, Ndi Ukpolo, Ndi Inyima, Ndi Nsi Eziukwu/Ndi Idika Awa and along Nkpogolo Road leading to Federal Government College, Ohafia, and along Onyirimba Road and Bakassi Avenue and Amekpu Ohafia community.
