ONITSHA — The Anambra State Government has commenced the desilting of the Okpoko Sacamori drainage channel to mitigate flooding and restore its capacity to convey stormwater from Onitsha and surrounding communities into the River Niger.
The intervention followed recurring flooding in Okpoko, which has damaged property and infrastructure and resulted in loss of lives during previous rainy seasons.
The state government awarded the work to four construction companies, deploying excavators, swamp buggies, and trucks to remove debris from the channel.
Ogbaru Local Government Project Site Engineer, Mr. Anthony Nnaetoo, stated that contractors are working on several sections, including:
- The Ndida Well section down to Ogbuagu Junction
- The catchment pit at Orange Drug
- The section from New Market to Ogbuagu Junction
- The channel across the Second Niger Bridge to the Idemili-Obosi River and onward to the River Niger
Nnaetoo noted that while contractors are evacuating large quantities of debris from the Sacamori, rainfall continues to wash refuse from Nkpor, Awada, and Fegge into the channel, undermining the exercise.
He called for a review of the desilting programme to ensure contractors achieve the desired result.
The Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area, Hon. Kenneth Akwuobi, and the President-General of Okpoko, speaking with ABS by telephone, described the project as a major intervention by the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, noting that work is progressing across all sections.
Residents, including Mazi Ogbuefi Ijele, Raphael Adigwe, Mr. Francis Nwanze, and Mr. Francis Omile, welcomed the exercise, recalling previous flooding experiences.
They noted that the last major desilting of the Sacamori occurred five years ago during the administration of former Governor Willie Obiano.
Residents appealed to the state government to undertake regular desilting, preferably once or twice annually during the dry season, to reduce flooding risks. Additionally, Mr. Solomon Nweke, a trader at Cokes Market, Onitsha, called for a change in public attitude toward waste disposal, urging residents to keep drains clear.
The Sacamori is a major drainage channel serving Awada, Fegge, Nkpor, and Okpoko, with its outfall linked to waterways leading to the River Niger.
Environmental authorities have previously cited indiscriminate waste disposal and blocked drainage channels as primary factors contributing to flooding in Anambra.
