Erosion Threatens EFAB Estate Residents

Residents of EFAB Estate, located within Mbora District in
the FCT, have complained about erosion threats caused by the construction work
in the area.

Mr Chambers Okorie, the Chairman of the EFAB Landlords and
Tenants Association, laid the complaint in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the excavation
work, prior to the construction of roads and drains in the area had eaten deep
into some compounds in the estate.

NAN also reports that the the use of heavy duty machines to
uproot trees had further expanded the shallow gullies created by the
construction activities.

According to the chairman, 60 houses in the estate are
currently under the threat of erosion.

He, therefore, called for the urgent intervention of the
FCDA, stressing that further escalation of the situation could have disastrous
consequences.

“When this project was awarded two years ago, we made
inquiries and were made to understand that FCDA had awarded the project for the
construction of roads and drains within the Mbora community.

“We sent our representatives to thank the Minister, Sen.
Bala Mohammed, for responding to our plight and not neglecting our community in
the provision of infrastructure.

“Our Joy is now turning to sorrow due to the negligence of
Messrs Sammyal Construction, the contractor handling the project.

“We earlier alerted the company and they came and saw the
effect of the excavation but did nothing to control or avert the impending
danger.

“The community is now battling with both the environmental problem
and security challenges.

Mr Obed Amazu, one of victims of the erosion said that he
spent about N9 million to erect a fence which had been washed away by heavy
rains.

Amazu, who is also a legal practitioner, decried the
environmental threat to the lives of all 60 residents and called on the
relevant authorities to come to the aid of the residents.

When contacted, Mr Sammy Adigun, the Chairman of the
company, said that the location of the houses in that particular area was
wrong.

Adigun maintained that the houses were too close to both the
road and the drains under construction.

He, however, said that it was the responsibility of the
residents to control the erosion in their areas and not that of his company.

He advised the affected residents to make their plight known
to the FCDA

“The location of those buildings is very close to the road
and the big drain.

“It is also the responsibility of EFAB to protect their
environment or to take their complaint to the FCDA’’.