Maduako Igbokwe I Saturday, Jan. 05, 2024
OKO, Anambra, Nigeria – Governor of Anambra State, Prof Charles Soludo has promised to address the problem of erosion menace threatening late former Vice President Alex Ekwueme’s Oko town, Orumba-North Local Government Area of the state .
Soludo made the statement on Friday evening at the commissioning of the Alex Ekwueme Civic Centre in Oko.
According to the governor,there is an urgent need to address erosion menace threatening Oko, describing it as serious issues that government must fight frontally.
The governor also said that there have been a previous town hall meeting with critical stakeholders, where the erosion threat faced by the community was discussed.
Soludo visibly disturbed by the erosion in Oko banned all kind of sand mining in the town.
The governor noted that sand mining and uncontrolled flooding are key contributors to erosion in Oko, explaining that solving it requires collective action from the community, individuals, and the government.
He also formed a 25man task force for the enforcement of ban on sand mining in the affected areas .
The prohibition he said also extends to three communities: Nanka, Amaokpala Awgbu, and Ekwulobia in Aguata .
Soludo said he will sign an executive order next week to enforce the ban.
” Those found guilty of contravening the prohibition will face prosecution. Trucks caught transporting excavated sand within these communities will be seized by the state government for a year upon conviction” he said .
According to him,failure to act now could lead to the disappearance of these areas within the next 50 to 60 years.
He described the former Nigerian Vice President Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme as a renowned politician, and intellectual
According to him, the legacies of the late former vice-president in the community include education sector, infrastructural development, health and many others.
He urged wealthy people of the area to sustain his legacies by funding projects that would promote development in the community, especially in the areas of road construction, scholarship award, health, etc.
As a tribute to Ekwueme, he said the state government pledged to construct the PAL Brewery road, initiated by the late vice president, who was the brewery’s founder.
Chief Handel Okoli, the coordinator of Ide Memorial Group representing the Oko Community, praised Ekwueme for the substantial development he brought to the area.
He said Ekwueme was instrumental in establishing the present Federal Polytechnic, Oko, initially founded as the “Comprehensive Secondary School” and later renamed by the federal government.
Earlier, Oko Peoples Union Chairman, Comrade Luke Nweke, expressed gratitude for the completion of the Civic Centre and Governor Soludo’s support in combating the erosion.
