The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ikechukwu Ogalla says, the Nigerian Navy is ready to establish a Naval base at the Ogurugu community, Uzo Uwani council area of Enugu State.
The Naval Chief represented by Rear Admiral Onyemaobi said that the committee had visited the Igwe’s palace to pay homage and also sought the support and cooperation of the people in making sure the naval base operations were actualized.
He appealed to the people to work in synergy with the military personnel who would be visiting the area from time to time by assisting them with the required support and information.
Addressing newsmen shortly after surveying the river, the senior military officer stated 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.
While assuring that the security and economic benefits of the naval base would serve the country as a whole, the Deputy Governor said Ogurugu was strategic to the country’s economic growth during the colonial era.
He revealed that their visit was necessitated by the desire of the Nigerian Navy to commence the project immediately, adding that the success of the project woulde depend on how Ogurugu, Iga, Asagba, and the entire Uzo Uwani council area give their support to the Navy.
Barr. Ossai, who said the naval establishment would include a designated area for building offices, training ground and residence, maintained that the state government under Governor Peter Mbah would soon commence the process of acquiring land for the project.
According to him, the Ogurugu community, 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, and 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.
Appreciating the gesture of the government for the project, the council chairman, 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 an effective policing system.
He expressed gratitude to the state governor and the federal government for the choice of the local government, promising that they would give the navy whatever support it needed to facilitate the project and ensure its speedy completion.
Dignitaries at the visit 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 Hon. Solomon Onah, respectively.
Others were, Commodore D C. Ekwom, Commodore S Ibrahim, Navy Captain U I Abubakar, Navy Captain A A Ibrahim, Command ander O. M. Williams, among others
(THE SPYE NEWS)