Uyo residents beg Akpabio to rescue them from flood

Residents of Eniong, Anua, Mbiabong Housing Estate in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, have sent a Save Our Soul letter to the state governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, urging him to come to their rescue.

The letter, which came after most residents of the estate had packed out of their houses as a result of a heavy
downpour which flooded their homes, appealed to the state government to consider the plight of the residents, who have been suffering untold hardship due to the effects of the rains.

The latest rain on Monday lasted several hours and brought down the fence of some of the houses in the estate, while household items were seen floating in the rain water that entered some of the houses.

When Vanguard visited the estate, most residents were seen battling the rain to remove their electrical appliances and other household items out of their houses as the rain water had flooded the entire area.

President of the Estate, Mr. Anselem Etuk, whose house was flooded, told Vanguard that the flood menace has remained a perennial problem, but wondered why the state government, despite repeated appeals had refused to come to their rescue.

Another resident of the estate, Mrs. Eyo, whose house was also affected, while recounting her experience in the last three years, said “in 2011, I lost all my property and started all over in 2012, I had the same experience, and now in 2013, it has happened again, yet the government will not even show concern.”

A pensioner in the estate, Mr. Uduak Archbong, told Vanguard “our problem is not that we don’t have a government, we have a government, but my worry is why this kind of problem will not attract the attention and sympathy of the government.”

The state Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Enobong Uwah could not be reached for comment, as he did not pick calls placed to his mobile phone.