There are palpable fears over the safety of the homes
of some residents in Oko community, Orumba North Local Government Area in
Anambra State, including the home of the former Vice President of Nigeria, Dr.
Alex Ekwueme.
This is because Rhino Construction Services, the
company handling the gully erosion project in Nanka and Oko communities where
several hectares of land have been washed away by erosion, has decided to pull
out of the project.
It was gathered that the ancestral home of the former vice
president which has been on the danger list since two years ago has finally
been chopped into by the gully as a result of the rains, and may cave in
anytime.
When visited the site, it was learnt that residents of
both Oko and Nanka communities have decried their fate as the company sets to
pull out of the site.
A staff of Rhino Construction Services, who spoke to reporters
on condition of anonymity, said the company was moving out after the completion
of the first phase of the job to tame the erosion and waiting for over a year
for the commencement of the second phase of the job.
According to him, “We completed this project since
June last year, and we have even done extra work, hoping that the federal
government will approve the commencement of the second phase of the job, but
from what we gathered, the Anambra State Government has written to the federal
government asking them to hands off the job as the World Bank was taking over.
“What we have done in this first phase of the job can
sustain this project for another 10 years, but the federal government needs to
approve palliative works on the project for it to last that long. This is
because we all know that the World Bank will not commence work on the site
immediately.
“Procurement process for projects take years, and even
around the state here, there are some other projects that the World Bank is
handling that has lasted years without being awarded, and it would not bye-pass
those ones to award this one.”
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