Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has assured that the Atiku Abubakar flood evacuation and the Udo Inyang Street end gully erosion site recovery projects in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, are to be completed before the onset of the 2024 rainy season.
Governor Eno gave the assurance during his interaction with Government House correspondents shortly after he toured the project sites at Atiku Abubakar Way and Udo Inyang Street end, Ikot Idio in Ewet Offot community, Uyo.
Recalling his last visit to the gully erosion site when the area was inaccessible beyond the Udo Inyang Street by the Urua Udofia axis due to the erosion menace, Governor Eno expressed satisfaction with the intervention measures, describing them as necessary and timely.
Impressed with the pace of works on Atiku Abubakar flood control project, where underground and surface drains are being constructed simultaneously to evacuate flood waters from the area into the IBB major drainage, the Governor affirmed that the value of the project to the people was worth the spending.
He said, “At Atiku Abubakar, you could see the underground drains and the upper drains. You could see the length, to take water to the main drainage in the state. I think those interventions were good. So, for me, from time to time I go around to see and have a clear understanding of what expenses we are doing, and I’m marrying the money to the works in my estimation.”
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Reviewing the project, Commissioner for Works and Fire Service, Professor Eno Ibanga, described the projects as a justification for Governor Umo Eno’s spontaneous interventions in the infrastructure needs of the people of the state, explaining that the Atiku drain, which spans 1.2 km, fits into the state’s drainage master plan and will link the Atiku waters to the main drainage.
On the gully erosion recovery project, the Commissioner said that the rapid earth loss has been intercepted with the recovery process at a quick pace, adding that the first retaining wall has been completed, the second will be completed, and all finishing will be completed before the next rainy season, reassuring that the Atiku Abubakar Way surface will be restored by the end of February.
The interventions, upon completion, will salvage the age-long despair of residents of Atiku Abubakar Avenue and its environs and the disconnected areas in the Ewet Offot community, as well as create a tourist site to complement the Brook Street Recreational Park.
