Owners of houses among them retirees, along Akpan Eton Street, Uyo, have relocated from their homes after a fast approaching gully swallowed many buildings in the area.
The area is said to house many staff of the University of Uyo and Uyo City Polytechnic but have posed a risk to residents as gully erosion is said to be causing landslide in the area following increased rainfall in recent times.
In a save our souls letter made available to correspondents in Uyo on Tuesday, residents of the area appealed to Governor Udom Emmanuel to extend his ongoing intervention gestures along Ikpa Road to the area.
The residents who have acknowledged Governor Udom Emmanuel’s humane disposition towards the plights of the people, as demonstrated by ongoing ecological interventions in various parts of the state regretted that repeated calls for help to previous administrations could not yield result.
The Community in the letter signed by Mr Titus Udoh and Mr Ekong Asuquo, lamented that while many buildings had already been swallowed up by the gully, many others were at the verge of caving in.
“We want to use this medium to humbly appeal that you please save our souls from a gully erosion which is eaten deep into our buildings, some of which had already caved in.
“Your Excellency, some of us are retired Civil Servants with children and our only asset is our house, now faced with threat of being washed off at every rainy moment. You can imagine what life has become for some of us.
“It may quite disheartening to see many Akwa Ibom families lose their homes, as we fear the entire street may not survive this rainy season”
“In the interim, some of us who are badly threatened have had to relocate our families to safe areas until the erosion and the fast encroaching gully would have been taken care of.” The letter read.
Udoh, a retiree whose fence caved into the gully 2021 said he decided to temporarily relocate to save his dear wife who had developed health complications due to constant dread of the situation.
It was learnt that the area was excavated as a borrow pit and later abandoned by a construction company that was awarded a World Bank job in the area some years back.
The pit is said to have gradually grown, with heavy flood coming into from Urua Ekpa and later expanded, unattended to and began to swallow buildings some 15 years ago.
There were also sad incidences of humans who have lost their lives around the area, including one of the residents who mistakenly slipped into the gully while attempting to flee from some wild dogs in the neighborhood.
While applauding the ongoing intervention on Ikpa Road, the community however expressed concerns that water rushing out of the area may still pose a threat to the main Ikpa Road as it would continue to flood the area if not properly channeled.
