Flood wrecks havoc in Imo community

Flooding, said to have been caused by laying of pipeline by oil companies, has caused major devastation in Obiakpu community in Ohaji/Egbema Local Governments Arwa of Imo State.

South-East PUNCH gathered from reliable sources that cash crops and aquatic livestock worth about N3 billion were destroyed by the flood.

South-East PUNCH correspondent gathered that Sterling Global Oil Company currently laying oil pipe in the area broke a river bank in neighboring Egbema, thereby causing the river to overflow its banks, washing away farmlands in the area.

A vegetable farmer in the affected area, Mrs. Agnes Ikwuegbu, said that the flood had submerged her farmland, where she said she planted vegetable.

She said, “The flood in the month of March is surprising to me, because since I started farming on this farmland, I have never experienced such before. So, when I saw this last week Thursday, I was shocked.”

The farmer described the flooding as an unusual occurrence, just as she added she later found out that Sterling Global Oil Company operating in the area was laying out pipeline around the river channels.

Furthermore, she said that she had nothing doing than farming and that the incident meant that she had lost her means of livelihood and income.

The mother of four however, unveiled that she borrowed some money to invest in the farmland, a loan she was expected to repay after harvest.

Ikwuegbu stressed that with the present situation, she would not be able to repay the loan, let alone feed her family.

In a related development, another victim, Mr. Ikechukwu Osuji, stated that he would be losing close to N40 million, being his annual income from planting cucumbers.

Osuji claimed that he harvests 20 bags of cucumbers, which he usually sells at the rate of N20,000 per bag, pointing out that he had been weakened by the destruction caused by the flood on his farmland.

Adding his voice, another victim, Jude Isikogu, said that his family fishpond had been dislodged.

Isikogu stated that they usually harvest fish in the said pond every five years.

He said, “I regret that we are expecting to harvest fish from the pond this year, only for a man-made flood disaster to devastate the pond.”