Erosion menace: Expert advises council to relocate headquarters

The Consulting Engineer of Erosion Sites in Ebonyi State, Mr John Uzoma, has advised the Afikpo-South Local Government Area of the state to relocate its headquarters due to severe erosion threat.Uzoma gave the advice in Nguzu Edda at the weekend when the World Bank and Nigerian Erosion/ Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) team visited the area.The consultant noted that immediate relocation of the headquarters would help in averting human and material casualties that may arise due to the magnitude of the erosion threat in the area.'Despite temporary measures made by the council to check the menace, it has become more threatening as it is at present 600 metres in length along remedial lines,' he said.Uzoma remarked that his firm had taken the soil samples of the site for relevant tests and conducted topography survey and literary works to determine the terrain sample.'We are also ascertaining the Watershed point by having accurate measurement of the site's contour lines,' he said.He said the tests would enable the firm to effectively apply the biometric approach which involves combination of biological (planting of trees) and engineering remedial approaches to check the trend permanently .Mr Philip Echiegu, NEWMAP Interim Project Coordinator in the state, said the intervention project was a collaborative effort between the Federal Government, World Bank and seven erosion-prone states of the federation.'The states are Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Abia, Anambra, Edo and Cross River and I want to say that Ebonyi was the first of the states to pay the N30 million project's counterpart fund,' he said.Echiegu said the team was in the state to assess the condition of erosion sites in the state in line with its main project thrusts.'These thrusts include the identification and preparation of sites, engineering design (Geological Information System based mapping of sites), Environmental and Impact Assessment and Social / Economical Assessment,' he said.He said that all the benefiting states would converge in Owerri between today and November 12, for a project appraisal workshop to chart a new course.Chief Nkama Ude, chairman of the local government, thanked the team for its visit, lamenting that the erosion menace had prevented the council from developing at the same rate with others in the state.'We hope all these postulations would be translated into action, as we would give you all necessary support to ensure that this problem is permanently solved,' he said.
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