The Federal Government is preparing an urgent response to threats facing major strategic assets in Calabar, Cross River State, including the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Victory facility and an NNPC Limited jetty that supports the country’s energy infrastructure. The move follows an ecological emergency linked to the collapse of the Channel 2 underground drainage system on Anansa Road.
Dr Aishetu Mohammed, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Government’s Ecological Project Office, disclosed the planned intervention in a statement issued over the weekend. The drainage failure caused widespread environmental damage, destroyed infrastructure, interrupted commercial activity and resulted in loss of life.
Mohammed said the consequences extended well beyond a conventional drainage failure, creating broader national-security and economic risks. She spoke while receiving a Cross River State delegation headed by Environment Commissioner Bassey Offiong Mensah, and said the first step would be a joint technical investigation into the causes of the disaster and the development of durable corrective measures.
She also stressed that the federal response would be carried out in cooperation with the state government and local residents. Community traditions, she said, would be respected, with officials listening to affected people and adapting the intervention to local conditions.
