By Ndife David, Trans Nkisi.
Landlords and property owners in Trans Nkisi Layout, Onitsha, have mobilised significant resources to cushion the devastating impact of the huge gully erosion ravaging the area, constructing several very wide, deep and thick drainage channels at different locations and along various waterways to control floodwaters and other uncontrolled water flows, while urgently calling on Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, to intervene decisively and deliver a lasting solution.
The Chairman of Trans Nkisi Layout Landlords, Chief Onyebuchi Ndulue, who spoke on behalf of landlords, property owners and developers, said the community had taken the immediate step to control flooding, check further erosion and protect lives and property by constructing substantial drainage channels capable of directing floodwaters and other uncontrolled water away from vulnerable areas pending comprehensive government intervention.
Ndulue disclosed that the landlords had already committed a huge amount of money to the emergency works, including the construction of the wide, deep and thick drainage channels at strategic locations, stressing that the financial burden underscored the seriousness of the threat and the community’s determination to protect the layout from further environmental degradation.
He recalled that the landlords formally sent an SOS to the state government on July 7, 2026, following the alarming escalation of the erosion challenge and subsequent joint inspection of the affected areas by the Commissioners for Works, Arc. Okey Ezeobi; Physical Planning and Urban Development; and Environment, Dr. Clem Aguiyi.
The chairman commended the Soludo administration for responding to the community’s distress call through the inspection, but appealed to the governor to step in and step up the intervention with permanent erosion-control infrastructure capable of finally arresting the menace and providing a comprehensive drainage system to complement the channels already constructed by the landlords.
He warned that without urgent and comprehensive action, the expanding gully could worsen during successive rainy seasons, with uncontrolled floodwaters and other water flows intensifying erosion, causing further damage, threatening homes and infrastructure and posing a serious threat to the lives and properties of residents of the layout.
Ndulue, however, pledged that Trans Nkisi landlords would continue supporting the Soludo administration by strictly adhering to environmental, physical planning and development regulations, protecting drainage channels and waterways and avoiding practices capable of aggravating erosion and flooding.
He said the community would sustain proper waste management, sanitation and other environmentally responsible measures, stressing that the newly constructed drainage channels were part of the landlords’ immediate effort to provide safe passage for floodwaters and reduce uncontrolled water flows, while government intervention would achieve better and more durable results when complemented by responsible conduct from landlords, developers and residents.
The landlords’ chairman reaffirmed their commitment to partnering with the state government in restoring the environment and maintaining an orderly, safe and sustainable layout, while urging the administration to deploy the technical and financial resources required to permanently tackle the gully and develop a broader, properly engineered drainage and erosion-control network for the area.
Ndulue said the landlords’ immediate intervention, including the construction of several very wide, deep and thick drainage channels at different locations and along various waterways, was a demonstration of their resolve to protect their community, but stressed that the scale of the erosion, flooding and uncontrolled water flows had gone beyond what residents could sustainably handle alone, making decisive government action indispensable to securing Trans Nkisi Layout from further devastation.
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