A part of Old Stadium Road in the heart of Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, has been swallowed by a gully erosion.
The adjoining road is about 100 metres from Wellington Bassey Way, the road leading to the Akwa Ibom Government House.
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For decades, this expanding gully has plagued the community, swallowing farmland and private and government buildings. This ongoing destruction has left residents in a state of perpetual fear. Without immediate intervention, the erosion is poised to claim more structures and sever critical infrastructure, including a significant portion of Old Stadium Road and Udo Street.
Most alarming is the immediate threat to a primary health centre in Uyo Village—a facility only recently completed by Governor Umo Eno’s administration.
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When our reporter visited the scene on Monday, apprehensive residents stood at a safe distance from the gully’s edge, quietly contemplating their fate as the land continued to crumble.
“This one (the gully extension) happened on Saturday after a heavy rainfall,” a resident told PREMIUM TIMES. “The damage will be bigger in the coming days if we have heavy rainfall.”
Officials from the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company were at the scene on Monday, working to disconnect the power supply and remove high-tension wires to prevent electrocution should the utility poles collapse.
The Head of the Uyo Village, Aniedi Edet Okon, has appealed for Governor Eno’s quick intervention.
“I am begging my governor. Please, don’t allow this gully to destroy the new and beautiful healthcare centre you built for us,” Mr Okon told our reporter on Monday.
“This health centre has helped so many children from the villages around here.
“Please my governor, I am begging you to act very fast to rescue us. The gully had already taken many houses.”
Despite the trauma his people are going through because of the gully, Mr Okon thanked Governor Eno for the infrastructure his administration has built in the Uyo village, especially the reclamation work on another nearby gully, which has been transformed to a breathtaking tourism project called the Arise Park Resort along Dominic Utuk Avenue.
Ubong Henry, a community leader in the Uyo village, told our reporter that the community had written several letters appealing for the state government’s intervention.
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“We have spoken in the media about this problem, and many NGOs have done their best to draw attention to the menace. We are still appealing to the government to come to our rescue,” Mr Henry said.
Nsikak Ekong, the commissioner for environment in Akwa Ibom, has yet to respond to calls and a text message seeking his comment on the matter.
However, Mr Henry, the community leader in the Uyo village, informed PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday evening that some government officials and a civil engineering contractor had visited the gully site on Monday.
“We are very hopeful that the government will do something about it (the gully),” he said.
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