Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has placed a ban on sand excavation in the late former Vice President Alex Ekwueme’s Oko Community, located in the Orumba-North Local Government Area (LGA).
The prohibition also extends to three adjacent communities: Nanka, Amaokpala Awgbu, and Ekwulobia in Aguata LGAs.
Soludo said his intention to sign an executive order next week to enforce the ban. Those found guilty of contravening the prohibition will face prosecution. Trucks caught transporting excavated sand within these communities will be seized by the state government for a year upon conviction.
The governor also announced plans to establish a task force to ensure the implementation of this order.
Soludo announced the government plans when he commissioned a civic centre named after the late former vice-president by his Oko Community christened “Alex Ekwueme Civic Centre, Oko”, as part of people’s plans to immortalise him on Friday.
Soludo warned the residents of the five affected communities about the imminent erosion disaster and urged the adoption of necessary preventive measures.
He stressed that failure to act could lead to the disappearance of these areas within the next 50 to 60 years. The sand excavation was identified as a significant contributor to exacerbating erosion and flood-related disasters in the region.
Soludo recalled several legacies of the late former vice-president in the community including in the education sector, infrastructural development, health, etc, and, urged wealthy people of the area to sustain his legacies by funding projects that would promote development in the community, especially in the areas of road construction, scholarship award, health, etc.
As a tribute to Ekwueme, the state government pledged to construct the PAL Brewery road, initiated by the late vice president, who was the brewery’s founder.
Chief Handel Okoli, the coordinator of Ide Memorial Group representing the Oko Community, praised Ekwueme for the substantial development he brought to the area.
He said Ekwueme was instrumental in establishing the present Federal Polytechnic, Oko, initially founded as the “Comprehensive Secondary School” and later renamed by the federal government.
The late Alex Ekwueme, who passed away on November 19, 2017, at the age of 85, was honoured with a burial conducted by the federal government.