The Abia State Project Coordinator, Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), Engineer Izuchukwu Onwughara has lauded the efforts of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu for being wholistic in governance of the State and impacting Abians on a broad base.
Engineer Onwughara was speaking in an interaction with newsmen in his office in Umuahia.
He said that the Governor is not limited to infrastructural developments, “our Governor has been wholistic in his approach, we have a very strong health component; the Tele-health and resuscitation of primary healthcare. We have a very strong imput in educational sector; trying to revive primary and secondary schools. We have a very strong imput in agriculture, we have a strong input in commerce and trade generally and others.”
The NEWMAP boss disclosed that so far under Ikpeazu’s administration, five gully erosion sites including Umuezeukwu, Amuzukwu-Ibeku, Amuda-Achara-Isuochi, Umuagu-Ibeku/Umuda-Isingwu and Umuogele-Umuakwu have been controlled in the State. He said, in addition to controlling the erosion menace in those communities, the Governor through the NEWMAP, had equally carried out remediations and road constructions of at least 1.8 kilometres around the areas where such jobs were done as well as provided alternative means of livelihood for people in the areas where interventions took place.
He revealed that as part of social responsibilities, the companies that handled the projects built civic centres, class room blocks and boreholes in those communities.
He stated that without the Governor’s intervention, non of the things achieved by NEWMAP would have been possible, adding that “every thing NEWMAP is doing in Abia State and in any State that is taking part in NEWMAP project is owned by that State and is led by that State. It is the State with the assistance of World Bank and then the State is marching it with our own government counterpart contribution.”
He equally assured that the Aba flood control project being done by the NEWMAP, whihc he said has commenced, would be delivered within 18 months and commissioned by Governor Ikpeazu before he lives office in 2023. He informed that the Aba flood project which is aimed at moving the flood water out of the city would cover such areas as Ngwa Road, Obohia Road, Ndiegoro, Portharcourt Road and their environs.
On the Aba flood project, Engr Onwughara explained: “We want to move the flood at Uratta pond, Uratta by Portharcourt road out of the city. We also want to move the flood at Obohia road, which aggregates at the Obohia pond, the place they called Umuagbai pond. Simply put, there will be an, underground culvert that will move from Uratta and move the water along Portharcourt road through Crystal Park road to Obohia road and along Obohia road, this same culvert will now discharge the water inside the pond that is already in Obohia road. And then we do something that is very massive, an underground tunnel that measures about 4.5 metres in diameter. That tunnel will take the water from Umuagbai and discharge at Aba river.”
The Abia NEWMAP SPC described the kind of works to be done in Aba as novel and one that has never been done anywhere in Nigeria, noting that: Equipment is coming in crates of 77 containers. The equipment is as long as 110 meters and to be dropped into the soil to the depth of about 30 meters.” He added that it would make holes in the soil and excavate the soil to the surface saying that it is a very novel activity that engeneering experts would appreciate.
He further informed that “beyond the fact that we will be doing a tunnel to move water from Obohia road to Waterside let us add that the contract includes doing a total of 15 killometre drainage on the surface,” all these works, he said, would not negatively affect the residents and businesses people in these areas.
The Project Coordinator, who listed the challenges they are facing with the project to include refusal of the market people to leave the market and use the road pavement for trading, poorly built buildings in Aba and the living habit of an Aba man which negates development called for attitudinal reorientation.
He also called on Abians to be patient with the Governor as well as adopt a more disciplined approach to solving waste management saying that: “as long as we have this habit of dumping our refuse in the drainages, we would always allow water to pond and when they pond on the road, whatever government has invested would go, of course not only that, our underground water would be polluted, there would be breeding of mosquitoes and other water borne deseases.”
He assured that the works, “will change the landscape of the area. There will be a remarkable difference in the raod infrastructure in Aba by the time we are done.”