Akwa Ibom residents protest, barricade road over devastating flooding

Several communities in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, were submerged by floods on Thursday after hours of heavy rainfall destroyed homes, household property and livestock and prompting residents to block a major interstate highway in protest.

The flooding affected communities including Nkemba and adjoining streets, Abak Road, Ukana Offot, Port Harcourt Street, Tabernacle Road and adjoining streets, Osongama and Nsikak Eduok Avenue.

The rain began on Wednesday evening, eased briefly at night and resumed heavily on early hours of Thursday morning before reducing in intensity later in the day.

Angry residents of Tabernacle Road barricaded the busy Ikot Ekpene Road, disrupting traffic on the highway linking Akwa Ibom with Abia and Cross River states.

The protesters accused the state government of neglecting the area and blamed the prolonged delay in completing the Tabernacle Road project for worsening flooding in surrounding communities.

Homes, livestock destroyed

Residents told PREMIUM TIMES that floodwaters entered homes, destroying household belongings and killing domestic animals.

Udeme Ubong, a resident of the area, said repeated flooding had become unbearable after years of abandoned road construction.

“For eight years now, we have suffered like slaves in our own state. We park our vehicles elsewhere because of flooding. Anytime it rains heavily, water enters our homes and destroys our property.

“Last year this time, I lost 462 chickens to flooding. Today many of my belongings have again been destroyed and my family may have to look for somewhere else to sleep.

“This is happening because the government is not serious about fixing this road. Even after all these years, no government official has visited us or provided any relief. We cannot continue like this. If nothing is done, we will march to Government House,” he said.

Residents of Nkemba also blamed years of poor drainage maintenance. They said the flood led to the death of one resident and two others hospitalised.

They alleged that when government channelled stormwater into the area’s major drainage corridor, authorities agreed to evacuate accumulated silt annually but had failed to honour that commitment.

According to them, runoff from several surrounding communities empties into the Nkemba drainage channel before flowing into a ravine, but years of accumulated silt have significantly reduced its capacity.

In June, PREMIUM TIMES observed that substantial sections of the drainage corridor around Nkemba were already heavily silted ahead of the peak rainy season.

Videos show severe flooding

 

Videos shared by broadcasting organisation, ADBN TV showed floodwaters inundating homes along Abak Road, Nkemba, Ukana Offot and Port Harcourt Street.

PREMIUM TIMES observed from the footage that several residential buildings were submerged, while a dead goat was seen carried by one of the protesters after residents said it had been killed by the flood.

Project delayed for years

The flooding has renewed attention on the delayed 2.2-kilometre Tabernacle Road project and its associated 0.97-kilometre underground outfall drain traversing Uyo and Itu Local Government Areas.

The project was first awarded in 2018 under former Governor Udom Emmanuel to Zastros Engineering Construction Company.

Residents said the contractor excavated drains, deposited laterite and abandoned the project after about seven months, leaving the road in a worse condition.

Between 2019 and 2023, the project remained largely stalled despite repeated complaints from residents.

Governor Umo Eno’s administration re-awarded the contract to Nsik Construction in February 2024. However, progress has remained slow.

During a media briefing in May, Mr Eno said the contract would be terminated by July if the contractor failed to complete the project.

“The road was awarded to my own townsman, Nsik Motors. I met him as a contractor. A good one at that. He bidded for the job and won,” the governor said while responding to questions over the delay.

Billions budgeted

The flooding also raises questions about the implementation of flood-control projects despite significant budgetary allocations.

Analysis by PREMIUM TIMES shows that the Akwa Ibom State Government appropriated N2.5 billion in the 2026 budget for “drainages, canal desilting and flood control in Uyo metropolis and environs” to be implemented by the Akwa Ibom State Environmental Protection and Waste Management Agency (AKSEPWMA).

The government also budgeted N20.03 million for the Akwa Ibom State Road Maintenance Agency to remove and evacuate debris from drainage channels to prevent flooding in Uyo.

The Tabernacle Road project has also received substantial allocations under the current administration, with N1.58 billion budgeted in 2023, N1 billion in 2024 and N3 billion in 2025.

The state’s 2024 Budget Performance Report showed that N646.97 billion was spent between January and September 2024, although the report did not provide project-level expenditure details. The state has not published a detailed budget performance report for 2025.

Akwa Ibom is not a state lacking funds in the 2026 fiscal year. Earlier this year, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Akwa Ibom had N397.51 billion available for spending in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting the state’s strong fiscal position.

This newspaper also recently reported the Nigerian Meteorological Agency’s prediction of above-normal rainfall and increased flood risk in several parts of the country, including Akwa Ibom.

Government responds

The Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, said the government was aware of the flooding caused by prolonged rainfall.

“The government is aware of the stormwater flooding occasioned by over seven hours of rainfall from last night into this morning,” Mr Umanah told PREMIUM TIMES.

He said Governor Eno directed contractors to move into severely affected areas to undertake immediate remedial work to improve water flow.

According to him, the State Emergency Management Agency, the Ministry of Environment and AKSEPWMA have been mobilised to assess affected communities and determine immediate interventions.

Mr Umanah also blamed the indiscriminate blockage of drainage channels for worsening the flooding.

“NIMET had warned about heavy rainfall, and it has affected many states. Blockage of drainage lines has contributed immensely. Anyone caught blocking drains will be dealt with,” he said.

He added that drainage desilting is undertaken periodically and would continue according to government schedules.

Asked whether affected residents would receive compensation or emergency relief, Mr Umanah said the government must first identify and assess those affected before any intervention.

On the future of the delayed Tabernacle Road contract, the commissioner said reports from the Ministry of Works indicated that Nsik Construction had intensified work on the project.

Environmental Protection chair explains flood control efforts

Responding to questions from PREMIUM TIMES, the Chairman of AKSEPWMA, Prince Ikim, said the N2.5 billion appropriated in the 2026 budget for drainage, canal desilting and flood control should not be interpreted as money already available to the agency.

“There is a difference between budgetary provisions, approval and release,” he said.

Asked whether any part of the allocation had been released to his agency, Mr Ikim did not give a direct answer. Instead, he said responsibility for major drainage projects had been assigned to two separate government committees.

“There is a committee that was set up to handle major drainages. As I am talking to you, there are two different committees. One is headed by the Commissioner for Works and the other by the deputy governor,” he said.

Mr Ikim added that large-scale desilting operations do not fall directly under his supervision.

Responding to residents’ claims that the government had failed to honour an understanding to desilt the Nkemba drainage channel annually, the AKSEPWMA chairman said he personally supervised desilting works in the area in the past.

“I personally undertook the desilting of the Nkemba trough sometime ago, including areas around Abak Road and Nkemba,” he said.

He, however, said he was unaware of any formal agreement committing the government to annual desilting of the drainage channel.

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According to him, a government committee on desilting had identified Nkemba, Mbikpong, Nwaniba and other flood-prone locations as priority areas requiring intervention.

Mr Ikim said effective desilting requires specialised engineering work that must begin from the drainage outfall before progressing upstream into the city.

“Desilting is more technical than what people think. We must start from the outfall before coming into the town,” he said.

He added that some locations, particularly Mbikpong, require specialised sand-pumping equipment, which is sourced from Port Harcourt, contributing to the complexity of the work.