Isiukwuato erosion menace beyond Abia govt , Gov Ikpeazu laments
By Steve Oko
Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has lamented that the recent erosion menace at Ugwuaba community Isiukwuato is beyond the help of the state government.

The gully which occurred last Sunday split the Uturu /Isiukwuato road into two, completely cutting off the Abia State University Uturu (ABSU) end of the road from Isiukwuato end.
The depth of the frightening gully which occurred right in the middle of the road measures about 15 metres.
Since the incident occurred, vehicles plying the road could not longer connect to any of the ends.
The federal road serves as a major route linking Abriba , Ohafia and Arochukwu and Enugu, Anambra and other major cities via Isiukwuato.

Gov. Ikpeazu who was at the site of the gully on Wednesday, expressed shock and worry over the magnitude of the menace.
The Governor who was received by a mammoth crowd of locals at the site said something urgent needed to be done to save the situation from deteriorating but regretted that the situation was beyond the state.
” This is a disaster, a huge risk. It is beyond the capacity of the state government.
” I passed through this road recently . The road is now completely gone. The two communities are now separated.
” We will take the pictures to the federal government and apply for its intervention.”
Gov. Ikpeazu said Abia had not received “a dime from federal government as ecological fund since 2015”.
He said no state could tackle the type of gully erosion sites in Abia without federal assistance.
The Governor, however said the state would create a diversion 200 meters away from the gully spot as part of interim measures to alleviate the plight of motorists.

Speaking earlier, Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Aham Okoro said youths had been providing a palliative work to ease movement by pedestrians since the gully occurred.
He called on the federal government to urgently intervene.
The large crowd of villagers at the site were begging him to take a swift action towards salvaging the situation.

Isiukwuato has been prone to erosion and many houses have come under serious threat by the menace.
Federal Government is yet to complete any erosion control project in the area as abandoned vehicles and earth – moving equipment liter the site of a major erosion site at Oluluala leading to the county home of a veteran journalists, Chimdi Oluoha.
End
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