A’Ibom Govt House May Collapse

The Akwa Ibom State Government House is at the brink of collapse as gully erosion has ravaged the state’s seat of power and its environs.

The Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources, Mr John Harry who disclosed the worry of the state government to newsmen, yesterday, said the government was currently scouting for over N52billion to tackle the menace of gully erosion at the Government House and its environs, Mr  Harry  said in Uyo at a forum organised by the Correspondents Chapel of the NUJ, Akwa Ibom Council.

Harry said that gully erosion was threatening the inhabitants of the Dominic Utuk Avenue, NITEL building, University of Uyo and Government House.

“We are losing the land space at the rate of 42 metres annually; the distance left between the gully and the road is 60 metres; this is really threatening.

“We are calling on the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to assist us tackle this menace,” he said.

The commissioner said the state government had so far spent N13 billion on the Itam junction erosion project, adding that another N4 billion was spent on the Uruan-Oron erosion project.

“The cost of addressing erosion in Uyo is prohibitive.

“We have a complete compendium of 21 critical erosion sites in the state,” the commissioner added.

He decried the attitude of the people towards waste disposal and appealed to them to always dispose their waste inside a receptacle.

Harry said that the ministry was working on modalities to enforce the sanitation law with a view to prosecuting defaulters.