Senator Umeh worried that if left unchecked, the section of the Onitsha-Owerri Highway which is a gateway to business activities and other relationships between the Western States and Southern States will cave in and lead to total disconnection of the highway.
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The Senate has urged the Federal Ministry of Works to commence repairs and reconstruction of failed portions of the Onitsha-Owerri Federal Road particularly, the sections between Upper Iweka roundabout in Onitsha and Oba in Idemili South L.G.A of Anambra State, currently ravaged by gully erosion.
The lawmakers are also urging the Ministry to ensure regular surveillance of Federal highways to identify and nip erosion threats to Federal roads in the bud, while tasking the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to join in the detection and prevention of erosion menace on the highways.
These resolutions followed the adoption of a motion on the “Urgent need to control the erosion ravaging Onitsha-Oba section of the Onitsha-Owerri Federal Highway in Anambra State,” sponsored by Senator Victor Umeh (LP, Anambra Central).
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Presenting the motion, Umeh said he has received several calls concerning the situation of the road and thought it necessary to bring up the motion on the floor of the Senate.
Umeh in dismay, noted the devastating effects of ravaging gully erosion and landslide in Onitsha-Owerri Federal Road and Oba Junction, causing one lane of the road to be cut off, while the other lane is under serious threat of imminent collapse. He further stated that the building and factories within the vicinity are on the verge of collapsing into the gully.
The lawmaker warned that “if, the menace of gully erosion is not urgently controlled, those sections of the road will completely cave in, thus leading to total disconnection of the highway. The Onitsha-Owerri Federal highway is a gateway to business activities and other relationships between the Western States and South East and South-South States.”
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In supporting the motion, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia North), called the attention of the President to the issue, adding that he also cannot go to his local government because it has been taken by erosion.
He said, “It is not only in the South-East or South South but in several other states. I call on the President and the Federal Government to join hands with the sponsor of this motion and take action immediately.”
Other lawmakers who spoke in favor of the motion include Senators Asuquo Ekpenyong (APC, Cross River South), Eyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North).
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Additional prayers were made to the motion before it was adopted. They Include;
- Urge the Federal Ministry of Works, Housing and Environment to fix the communities of Oghom in Ogbo Hill, Aba, Abia State.
- Urge the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute to come up with cheaper and effective measures to control erosion.
- Urge the Federal Government to rehabilitate Nasarawa State and some other parts of Calabar Municipal.
- Urge the Secretary to the Federal Government to address all the affected areas in the country.
