Community leader decries illegal dredging on East-West road

The collapsing Amekpa/Affirsere bridge at the Ughelli axis of the East-West road in Delta State, has been attributed to the adverse effects of the ongoing illegal dredging in the Delta community.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Delta State, Chief Morison Olori, while raising the alarm at a media parley in Ughelli, called on the Federal and the state governments to urgently intervene and checkmate the illegal mining and dredging of sharp sands in the locality, to safeguard the lives of Ughelli residents.

He specifically called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, to prevail on the Delta State government and Ughelli North Local Government Area, to desist from allowing illegal dredging activities in Ughelli metropolis and across Delta State as a whole, noting that it destroys the environment and poses serious threats to the people.

He also suggested that as part of efforts to checkmate the menace, the Delta State government should, without further delay, begin to issue licences to prospective dredgers in the state.

Olori noted with dismay that the illegal dredgers were dredging the feet of the bridge and foundation of residential buildings in town without considering the risk posed to lives of the residents in the area.

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