By Sylvia Tochukwu-Ngige
A Joint Taskforce on Ifite Awka Regeneration has inspected the student-dominated district, exposing a pattern of deteriorating hostel conditions, unapproved structures, and drainage failures that officials say pose serious risks to residents.
The inspection, conducted on Thursday, June 26, 2026, was led by the Managing Director of the Awka Capital Territory Development Authority (ACTDA), Dr. Ossy Onuko. The team included a Supervisor representing the Awka South Local Government Area Chairman, and the Dean of Student Affairs at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Mr. Kingsley Ubaoji.
Inspectors found hostels without potable water or electricity supply, leaking roofs, failing plumbing, and wastewater discharging directly onto access roads. Shop and kiosk projections were found encroaching on narrow thoroughfares, compounding road and drainage deterioration across the area.
Addressing journalists during the exercise, Dr. Onuko disclosed that many buildings in the district lacked the requisite development approvals. Some structures, he said, had been erected on waterways — particularly around Yahoo Junction — while one building was found standing directly beneath high-tension power cables.
Dr. Onuko issued a seven-day ultimatum to owners of buildings sited under high-tension lines, as well as operators of shops and kiosks with illegal projections, to remove such structures or face regulatory action.
He further announced that officials of the Raw Materials Testing Laboratory would conduct structural integrity tests on inspected buildings to determine their fitness for habitation. Buildings certified as unsafe, he warned, would be demolished by ACTDA.
The ACTDA Managing Director stressed that the exercise was not punitive in intent, but was designed to ensure a clean environment and functional water channels capable of preventing erosion and gully formation in the area.
“Government cannot do everything,” Dr. Onuko stated, reaffirming his agency’s mandate to deliver practical solutions to community challenges.
Dean of Student Affairs Ubaoji urged students occupying the flagged buildings to relocate temporarily to alternative accommodation pending the outcome of structural tests. He warned that buildings found unfit would face demolition.
The Student Union President of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Comr. Chukwusom Samuel Ochuba, commended the taskforce for responding to the welfare concerns of the student community and urged fellow students to comply fully with the committee’s directives.
Sylvia Tochukwu-Ngige is a staff of the Anambra State Ministry of Information.
