Senator Victor Umeh Reacts To Erosion Ravaged Onitsha-Owerri Road

The landslide that cut off one lane of the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway at Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, may soon swallow the popular Rogeny Games Village and the multi-million naira First Choice Plastics Ltd located in the area.

Also threatened are buildings and several acres of land already mapped out for development.

It was discovered that more cracks have emerged on the other lane currently being used by motorists.

The further spread of the erosion menace was noticed when the Senator representing Anambra Central zone, Chief Victor Umeh, led members of Oba Royal Cabinet to inspect the site.

Although a tractor was seen at the site at the weekend, palliative measures might not solve the problem considering the magnitude of the landslide.

Umeh, who defied the security threat in the state to inspect the landslide, said what he saw required an emergency intervention from the federal government.

His words: “There is no guarantee that the other lane will survive another two weeks from what we have seen.

“Many factories and houses are already collapsing and people working in those companies will suddenly lose their jobs unless emergency work is done.

“This is a major gateway to the Eastern part of Nigeria. The second Niger Bridge is not far from here and all the vehicles coming from the Western part of the country into the South-East and South-South states pass through this road. This is why urgent action is needed.

“Almost every community in the state is threatened by erosion. The South-East is small in size and, regrettably, we are losing even the small land we have to erosion.

“I will show the video clips of this site to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, next week because even his people of Akwa Ibom pass through this road and they cannot go home if this road is cut off.”

“The East-West road that connects the South-South from Lagos has become a nightmare even after an enormous amount of money was spent on it. Everyone uses this road.”