Council Boss Denies Move To Relocate Headquarters

The Chairman of Afikpo South Local Government Area of Ebonyi, Chief Nkama Ude, has dismissed insinuations that he plans to relocate the council’s headquarters at Nguzu Edda, due to erosion threat.

Our correspondent, who visited the council’s headquarters on Wednesday, reports that almost half of the complex had been cut-off by the erosion menace, which has heightened fears of threat to lives of the local government employees.

Ude said that those who were making such insinuations were mischief-makers, who wanted to capitalise on the political undertones of such a move to cause disaffection among the people.

“We have cried to relevant authorities to help us on the issue but nothing concrete had come out of efforts made to check the menace.

“A team of the World Bank and Watershed Erosion Management Agency visited the area in 2011 and carried out necessary soil sample surveys of the area but nothing has been heard from them since.

“I meet regularly with stakeholders of the area on the issue and they have always been against relocation, but continued to hope that God will deliver us from the problem soonest.

“Any resolution to relocate the council would be with general consensus as the mischief makers were alleging that I intend to relocate it to my community, Osso.”

Ude noted that the situation had led to the suspension of developmental activities at the headquarters which had also affected the pace of administrative duties at the council.

“The state Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) instructed all councils to rehabilitate road networks within and around their headquarters but we cannot effect the directive due to the erosion menace.

“The makeshift barricades we used as our own efforts to check the menace are of little importance due to the magnitude of the erosion.”

Ude said that to lift the workers morale dampened by such impediment, the council had initiated policies to pay them regularly and settle their outstanding allowances.