Members of the Imo state House of Assembly, at its plenary yesterday, unanimously urged the state governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, to urgently declare state of emergency on Nekede Old Road gully erosion site, as well as the Ihim Umuneke, Umukaku, Umuelemai road, to avert possible loss of lives and property.
This was sequel to a motion titled: Motion for Government Immediate Intervention on the Collapsing Spot along Old Nekede Road to avert loss of Life and Property, chiefly sponsored by the member representing Owerri west state constituency, Hon. Innocent Ekeh, the House also directed the state Commissioner for Works to come forward and brief the House in its executive session, measures adopted by the Ministry to tackle ecological issues in the state.
Hon. Ekeh, during a debate on the motion, decried the deplorable condition of the road and warned that if urgent measures were not taken by relevant agencies of government, Nekede, which is a satellite town in Owerri, with large chunk of its residents as Civil servants, low income earners and businessmen alike, would easily be cut off from the Owerri Municipality.
He also suggested that the State Emergency Management Agency of the state government be empowered to immediately embark on palliative measures to save thousands of people who reside in that area from the awaiting imminent disaster.
Other members who contributed to the motion, Hon. Simeon Iwunze, Hon. Ikenna Amuka and Hon. Samuel Anyanwu, berated the unwholesome attitudes of sand excavators in various parts of the state and lamented that their actions were causes to the plethora of ecological challenges being witnessed across the state.
They further urged the House Committee on Environment to interface with the state Ministry of Environment to convene a stakeholder?s meeting involving all the sand excavators in the state to forestall further degradation of our environment.
The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Uwajumogu, directed that the House? Environmental Committee be made to partner with the state Ministry of Environment for possible alliance with the Federal Ministry of Environment to alleviate the sufferings of the people of the state.
The Speaker also directed a standing Committee to be headed by Hon. Kingsley Dimaku to immediately undertake on-the-spot assessment of all erosion sites in the state and report back to the House for necessary actions.
Meanwhile, the House has also pleaded with the executive arm of the government in the state to urgently address the Ihim Umuneke, Umukaku, Umuelemai road to enable the people of the area further feel the impact of government.
Rising in a motion of urgent state importance by the member for Isiala Mbano state constituency, Hon. Simeon Iwunze, which was facilitated by the petition written by the Traditional Ruler of Ihim autonomous community, HRH Eze Oliver Ohanwe, the House noted that the road was imperative, as it would enable the communities in the area partake in the ongoing rescue efforts on road construction and rehabilitation in the state.
It further maintained that if the road was properly addressed, agricultural commodities from the area would easily find their ways in the open markets and as such, add to the economic needs of the people in particular and the state in general.
Source: Emeka Ahaneku