The Ogurugu Community in Uzo Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State has pledged to make enough land available for the proposed naval base in the area.
The Traditional Ruler of the community, Igwe Emmanuel Egwuaba and his subjects pledged to donate enough land for the proposed naval base and related operations during the general assembly of Oguruge General Assembly (OGA), on Sunday.
This was disclosed by the royal father, alongside his people, when a joint committee set up by both the federal and the state governments paid a working visit to the community on Sunday.
Those who witnessed the event which followed a joint committee meeting between the state and federal governments and the community include the state Deputy Governor, Ifeanyi Ossai, representing the Enugu State government and Rear Admiral Chijioke Onyemaobi, who represented the federal government.
The joint committee led by the Deputy Governor Ossai, was welcomed by the jubilant members of the community who hosted them with fanfare.
Igwe Egwuaba while conveying his people’s happiness to the government for its intervention in the community, said if and when sited, the naval base would boost the economy of the area through the attraction of investors and other social amenities such as hospital, school and markets to the agrarian community.
Egwuaba, further noted that the community had earlier resolved to cooperate and support both the federal and state governments in whatever aspect they needed by first ceding their land and ensuring that the project was successfully executed.
According to the monarch, “As you can see yourself, the entire members of the community came out to welcome these government officials because of the news that a naval base is going to be sited here. It is a thing to celebrate because the government has remembered us.
“All of us in Ogurugu Community have resolved to support this project, and we want to assure the government that whatever is required from us, we will make it available. We have equally told them that we have large hectares of land and we are ready to give out our land for this project.
“This project will have many positive impacts on the lives of our people and the general economy of this place. You know we are dominantly into agriculture and we produce food staples such as rice, cassava, maize, among other agricultural products.
“So, this proposed base of the Nigerian Navy will open up our area and expand the economy. We can easily move our farm produce to the market through the waterways.
“Ogurugu community is made up of nine villages and we all share the same communal land. We have agreed that whatever the government is planning here in Ogurugu we’re ready to support it. We have pledged to give our land for the project because it’s all about the development of our community.
“Let me emphasize this for the umpteenth time; we, the people of Ogurugu community in Uzo Uwani Local Local Area of Enugu State are happy with the way the Federal Government has remembered us. We thank Governor Peter Mbah over the way he is leading us by example. He is spreading his good governance across every community.
“We are also appealing to Governor Mbah to come and invest in agriculture in Ogurugu. We have fertile land for whatever agricultural purpose the governor is planning.”
Also speaking on the occasion, a former Chairman of the local government area and stakeholder from the community, Chief James Ademu, noted that the news about the proposed project had already brought together the different villages in the community in order to ensure maximum cooperation with government officials, saying that the people had anticipated such projects.
He further noted that they had held several meetings among themselves in anticipation of the project before arriving at a conclusion that they were ready to donate any part of the community land that the Nigerian Navy might choose for the project.
“This project is going to help our people, empower us economically, and we will not take it for granted,” Ademu added.
Earlier, Rear Admiral Onyemaobi had said the committee had visited the Igwe’s palace to pay homage and also seek the support and cooperation of the people in making sure the naval base operations were actualized, and urged the people to work in synergy with the military personnel who would be visiting the area from time to time by assisting them with required support and information.
Addressing reporters shortly after conducting a survey on the river, Onyemaobi, said that the “water has all the requirements for the establishment of the naval base and other naval facilities, stressing that it’s navigable, wide and strategic.”
He assured that work would soon commence in the area even as he underscored that the project would assist in keeping the area safe for the citizens.
Commenting on the security and economic benefits which the naval base would usher into community and the country as a whole, the Deputy Governor said Ogurugu was strategic to the country’s economic growth during colonial era, pointing out that their visit was necessitated by the desire of the Nigerian Navy to commence the project immediately.
Ossai, further said that the success of the project would depend on how Ogurugu, Iga, Asagba, and the entire Uzo Uwani council area give their support to the Navy.
He further noted that the naval establishment would include designated areas for building offices, training ground and residences, adding that the state government under Governor Peter Mbah would soon commence the process of acquiring land for the project.
According to him, Ogurugu community in Uzo Uwani council area and the state at large would be the greatest beneficiaries of the project once established in terms of security and robust economic drive.
“This project is going to secure your inland waterway. It’s going to trigger economic benefits for Ogurugu. It’s going to provide the much desperately needed security so that we can go back to our farms; our commercial agriculture and begin to witness the same export Ogurugu had done in the 1930s and 1940s.
“What we expect is the maximum cooperation of everybody in the community and the local government to ensure speedy and immediate completion of the project,” the Deputy Governor added.
Commending the state and Federal Governments for their good gesture, the Chairman of the council, Hon. Chukwudi Nnadozie, said the people of the local government were glad that the project would give priority to the security of his people through effective policing system.
Among those who witnessed the occasion included the Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Hon. Patrick Nwabueze Ubro, Commissioner for Human Development and Poverty Eradication, Dr. Malachy Agbo, Chairmen of Igboeze North and Udenu local government areas, Hon. Ejike Itodo and Solomon Onah, respectively, as well as Commodores D C Ekwom, S Ibrahim as well as Navy Captains U I Abubakar; A A Ibrahim, Commander O. M. Williams, among others.