The erosion menace ravaging Oko – Nanka axis in Orumba council area of Anambra State, has reached the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, and threatening several structures worth about N7.5 billion in the institution.

The erosion is said to be due to a heavy down pour that led to the flooding of the campus and creating deep gullies within the school.

During a visit to the erosion site yesterday, the Rector of the polytechnic, Godwin Onu, said the menace has gone beyond what the management of the school could handle and called on federal and state governments to come to the rescue of the institution.

Onu expressed worry that the massive infrastructural development going on at the site, including the two-storey buildings of school of Engineering, Science Laboratory Technology, Ekwueme Resource Centre, Office Complex, Visual Resource Centre, Chinese Language and Cultural Centre, Food Technology Complex, four separate auditoria of different capacities, which were at advanced stages of completion, might be lost if urgent steps were not taken to avert the rampaging erosion.

The institution has already lost its perimeter fencing to the erosion and authorities are worried at the speed of the enlargement despite efforts to check the situation.

According to Onu, “We have a very serene, but challenging topography and the existing gullies surrounding the school environment is a task we must tackle with serious commitment.

“I am worried because we have high concentration of high rise structures in this location which has cost the institution fortunes to put in place as part of our development agenda. The way things are now, the matter has gone beyond what we can handle.

“Already, we have engaged professionals to quantify the damage already done and we have since submitted it to the appropriate quarters for support. We are equally seeking support from international donor agencies, NGOs and individuals because this is a capital intensive project.”

The Rector further stressed that the management was forced to embark on massive construction of the buildings to meet the accommodation needs of the institution, adding that it would be painful to lose any of the buildings to erosion.

However, the management of the polytechnic has already written the Ministry of Environment soliciting for assistance in the battle against the menace.

According to the letter reads, “The whole run-off from the school and some parts of the surrounding communities, like Amaokpalla, empty into a gully created at the extension site. This gully has taken up to a hectare of land with a depth of about 10 metres.”

From the letter, the control measure would gulp about N2.3 billion.

•Photo shows the erosion site.

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