Gov. Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom has urged Bulletin Construction Company to reconstruct the collapsed road at Afia Nsit community in Eket Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
Uno Uno, the state’s commissioner for environment and mineral resources stated this when he spoke with newsmen in Eket, headquarters of Eket LGA on Tuesday.
The road collapsed on Sept. 8 due to erosion.
Mr Uno said the company had moved to the affected site and work had commenced work in earnest on the road.
“Following an order from the governor, the State Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources has mobilised Bulletin Construction Company to move to the affected site to commence work on the Idung Eniang and Afia Nsit road in Eket,” Mr Uno said.
He said that a portion of Ediam and Afia Nsit road were washed off by erosion, thereby blocking off residents of Idung Eniang villages from gaining access to Eket main town.
The commissioner expressed appreciation to the council secretariat and residents of the affected communities for their conduct since the incident occurred.
“I thank Eket LG authorities for quick response and timely report of the incident,” he said.
Mr Uno said that the collapsed road was a major access to many other villages and towns within Eket LGA and as such, the collapse would affect economic and social activities within the affected communities.
Earlier, Richy Udoka, the chairman of Eket environmental protection and waste management committee thanked the state government for quick intervention.
Mr Udoka advised that a proper embankment be constructed along the waterways to avoid reoccurrence of the situation.
He observed that lack of embankment was a major cause of the water overflow.
He said that the flood was caused by some illegal waste collectors who did not want to use the government-approved dump site and decided to empty their waste into the waterways and drainages.
Mr Udoka warned both motorists and pedestrians to avoid the danger zones for now until the remedial work was completed.
