The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Environment, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, has warned Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, and his Enugu State counterpart, Sullivan Chime, over looming disaster from burrow pits created by contractors handling the federal highway projects in the two states.

Ekwunife while inspecting the damage caused by burrow pits created by contractors handling Onitsha-Awka-Enugu Expressway, regretted that despite her earlier appeal to the two state governments to call the contractors to order, nothing had been done to stop the impending environmental disaster the pits could cause to lives and property.

She urged the governors of the affected states to immediately set up a monitoring committee to monitor the activities of the contracting firms handling road constructions across the states with a view to educating them on the dangers inherent in excavating sand along the major roads.

“It is sad that despite my earlier warning, when I first inspected the condition of work on the federal highway and the dangers ahead following the unnecessary creation of burrow pits by contractors that nothing has been done. I, therefore, call on the governors of Anambra and Enugu states to monitor the activities of these contractors who create ecological problem for the states in the name of burrow pits,” Ekwunife said.

“It has become imperative that the contractors should be called to order because in no distant time, these burrow pits would develop into very big gully and Anambra State as one of the states with active erosion sites is very prone to such ecological disaster. So, we should try as much as possible not to cause a man-made disaster that will endanger our lives,” she added.

•Text courtesy of Daily Sun. Photo shows Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Environment, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife.