Abia State government has responded to the ravaging gully erosion along Ovom Street, Aba, which has cut the street into two and led to collapse of buildings and destroyed property around the area.
The governor, Alex Otti announced this while speaking to newsmen after inspecting the erosion site, expressing worry that the menace had dealt a heavy blow on the environment.
His words: “If it is not controlled immediately, it will not only affect other buildings, but also the opposite side where we are building a road which we’re expecting to be completed any moment from now”.
He directed the general manager of Greater Aba Development Authority to see him “for immediate mobilisation of experienced engineers and contractors to find a lasting solution to the problem.”
“We are starting immediately, it is not going to be done by direct labour. We need people who understand what to do. I believe that it is something that we should deal with before the end of this year.”
Otti said that in view of the enormity of the threat, he had earlier directed the authority to evacuate residents of the area to avoid loss of life and to allow the government to have a clear view of the situation.
“If you look around these houses, there is no body in there. I had already gotten them evacuated. So, I hope nobody goes back to some of these buildings because it’s very dangerous,” he said.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP, a victim of the building collapse, Emmanuel Okoronkwo, lamented his fate and expressed the hope that the intervention would be successfully executed.
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