The Abia government has constituted an emergency committee to safeguard indigenes of MkpaOhia-Oba in Ohanso village, Ukwa East LGA, from ingesting hydrocarbon-contaminated underground water.

Information commissioner Okey Kanu disclosed this at Government House in Umuahia on Monday, while briefing journalists on the outcome of the weekly Abia Executive Council meeting.

Mr Kanu said the move was necessary to urgently stem the consequences of community members ingesting water contaminated with hydrocarbons, which could lead to health hazards.

“The state government has set up an emergency management team led by the Commissioner for Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Prof. Joel Ogbonna. 

“The committee is to ensure the provision of potable water for indigenes of MkpaOhia-Oba Community in Ohanso village, in Ukwa East LGA. It has been established through water samples taken from the community that its underground water had been contaminated by hydrocarbons,” he said.

He noted that the urgency with which the government was attending to the situation underscored its commitment to save any community in any form of distress or danger.

Mr Kanu said the Abia government had also concluded arrangements to launch the state’s Contributory Pension Scheme in September to improve the living standards of its workers. He stated that 10 pension fund administrators have been selected to manage the scheme in the state.

The commissioner further said that the government had continued the construction of roads with the addition of five new roads being handled by direct labour. 

He stated that the Works Ministry had completed Ajiwe Street, Umungasi in Aba, Muri Bridge in Ohafia, Onu Roundabout in Igbere, the failed section of Emenogu Road in Aba, and the installation of safety signage barriers on eroded sections of the Umuahia-Bende Road.

He also stated that the Abia government, through the transportation ministry, had finalised plans to strengthen traffic rules and punish lawless road users. 

He stated that touting and extortion along the roads and in parks, driving against traffic, and violating traffic light regulations, as well as picking up passengers on roads, were prohibited and would attract punishment.

“Testing the will of this government in this regard will be an unprofitable venture for those involved,” he said.

Mr Kanu said the council decided that its members would wear Abia’s traditional outfits on the first Monday of every Month to showcase the state’s craftsmanship. 

He also stressed that civil servants in the state would wear the traditional attire of Abia every Friday to bridge cultural gaps and stimulate citizens’ sense of identity.

Mr Kanu said the government warned families implicated in the extortion of traders at the Ngwa Road Market to desist from such illegal activities or face the wrath of the law.

(NAN)