A section of Enugu residents at the bank of Ekulu River, G.R.A, Enugu, has called on relevant government authorities in the state to come to their rescue as structures erected by The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Movement, at Pocket Layout by Trans-Ekulu Flyover, Enugu, are posing a serious threat to their property in the neighborhood.
The state headquarters of the church is situated very close to the Ekulu River, which forced the leadership of church to construct concrete retaining walls blocking the waterway.
Currently, part of the church’s structure is threatened by the flood as a result of the blockage of the waterway which had also forced the water to re-route its flow to other people’s residence within the neighborhood.
Reacting to the ugly development, one of the residents who spoke on behalf of the neighborhood, Engr. Jerry Ezenwa, expressed concern that if urgent interventions are not carried out by appropriate government authorities, their buildings and that of others may be affected by the flood.
Engr. Ezenwa wondered why the church chose to build on such a dangerous terrain that is being ravaged by flood, stressing the past government ought not to have allowed such constructions in the area.
He charged the state government to enforce discipline and deal decisively with the alarming rate of illegal structures on waterways in the state in order to save lives and avert avoidable damage of people’s property by flood.
Another resident, who identified himself as Mr. Nnaemeka Onuora, disclosed that they had sent an SOS to the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA) for intervention, adding that the ECTDA has visited the site.
Mr. Onuora pointed out that “the volume of water on this Ekulu River whenever it rains heavily is so high and alarming that nobody or organization should ever contemplate blocking this waterway with any structure”.
He appealed to the ECTDA to live up to its responsibilities and extend its enforcement and development regulatory mandate to every nook and cranny of state capital without fear or favour for safety of lives and people’s property.
The resident advised those who build and erect structures on waterways to “desist from such unlawful and dangerous ventures that are detrimental to lives and property of our people”, lamenting that “I cannot lose my hard earned property here because of another person’s negligence and ineptitude”.