PHOTOS: Abia Govt Urges Residents to Relocate as Gully Erosion Ravages Uzuakoli Community

The Abia State Government has advised residents of Amamba Uzuakoli in Bende Local Government Area whose homes and farmlands have been destroyed by severe gully erosion to immediately relocate from the affected areas.

The Commissioner for Environment, Philemon Ogbonna, gave the warning on Friday during an inspection visit to the community, describing the erosion sites as unsafe for human habitation and farming activities.

Ogbonna, who visited the area alongside the Labour Party candidate for Bende Federal Constituency, Chima Anyaso, expressed shock at the scale of destruction caused by the ecological disaster.

According to the commissioner, Governor Alex Otti directed him to assess the extent of the environmental crisis with a view to determining the appropriate government intervention.

He assured affected residents that the state government was committed to addressing the situation and would intervene as soon as possible to mitigate the impact of the disaster.

Speaking during the inspection, Anyaso also lamented the widespread devastation caused by the advancing gully erosion, describing the situation as heartbreaking.

He sympathised with families who had lost their homes, farmlands and other valuable property, pledging to work closely with Governor Otti to ensure that lasting measures are taken to protect the community from further destruction.

The Labour Party chieftain also criticised previous lawmakers who represented Bende Federal Constituency, accusing them of failing to attract government intervention to the erosion-prone communities despite consistently receiving electoral support from residents of Uzuakoli.

According to him, the ecological crisis should have been given greater attention long before it reached its current alarming stage.

While taking the government delegation around the affected locations, the President General of Amamba Uzuakoli, Chigozie Okechukwu, said the community has been living in fear as the erosion continues to expand.

He explained that several houses, economic trees and farmlands had already been swallowed by the deep gullies, leaving many families displaced and threatening the livelihoods of local farmers.

Okechukwu added that many residents are now afraid to cultivate their farms due to fears of further land collapse and worsening erosion.

To prevent possible loss of lives, he disclosed that community youths had been directed to barricade access roads leading to the most dangerous erosion sites to stop residents and visitors from entering the affected areas.

Residents have appealed to both the state and federal governments to urgently implement permanent erosion control measures, warning that continued delay could result in more homes being destroyed and additional communities being cut off by the advancing gullies.