- Severe erosion endangers property worth billions along the Onitsha-Owerri expressway, risking Rojenny Stadium and numerous residential buildings.
- Anambra government has barricaded the affected section, urging immediate federal intervention to prevent an ecological disaster.
Massive erosion on the Oba axis of the Onitsha-Owerri expressway is endangering property worth billions of naira.
The erosion had already cut the federal highway’s Owerri-bound carriageway and threatened the second lane and had approached a filling station and a nearby hotel.
The Anambra government has already barricaded the affected section of the road, transferring the burden to the second lane, which is on the verge of collapsing.
The popular Rojenny Stadium and Games Village, which has a football pitch with a seating capacity of about 30,000, is also in danger of collapsing if immediate action is not taken to stop the gully erosion threat.
Some residents who spoke to journalists yesterday urged the federal government to intervene immediately and address the crisis before it devolved into an ecological disaster zone.
According to Mr Johny Obinwa, facility consultant at Rojenny stadium, the gully erosion threatens over 350 residential buildings, acres of undeveloped land, a filling station, and a two-star hotel.
Abia Govt demolishes structurally defective house in Umuahia
Abia State Government, on Saturday, demolished a two-storey building near the Government House in Umuahia, in a proactive move to save lives and property.
The rapid response team, comprising the Ministries of Lands and Housing, Power and Public, Utilities; Works, and also the Umuahia Capital Development Authority (UCDA), carried out the demolition while the Nigeria Police Force, Abia State Fire Service, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), Nigerian Institute of Town Planners and Nigerian Society of Engineers, supervised the operation.
The demolition of the building located at 5 Akanu Street in the capital city, according to a statement by Josephine Ogwo, Director of Information in Abia State Ministry of Lands and Housing, followed the alarm raised by occupants of the house, who hurriedly evacuated from it.
The ministry added that visible defects were noticed on the structure, which was sandwiched between two other buildings.