Enugu State Governor, Barrister Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, has promised to set up a mobile telecommunication base station in Ugbene Ajima community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area.
This effort aims to tackle insecurity and save the rural dwellers from the lack of mobile network, addressing the challenges in the area.
He stated this during an interactive chat with the people of the state on the popular social media channel X, marking his one year in office as governor.
In a statement signed by the Chairman of the Concerned People of Ugbene Ajima, Mr. Tony Eze, a native of Ugbene Ajima community, Ebuka Michael, expressed concerns over the security of lives and property in rural communities during the interactive chat.
Michael noted that the state government’s current efforts to improve agriculture and security would be futile if rural communities were left without access to a mobile network.
According to him, since Adam’s creation, the Ugbene Ajima community, located a few communities away from Nimbo, has never had a mobile network.
He expressed concern that with the recent attack in Nimbo community by suspected herdsmen, border communities like Ugbene were at risk. This situation is worsened by the lack of a mobile network to coordinate local security efforts.
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Michael explained that the lack of a mobile network made it difficult to communicate with security agencies to respond to emerging security threats in the area.
According to him, reported cases of farmers killed in their farmlands received no response from security agencies because there was no mobile network to alert them of the unfortunate incidents.
He said the community had written a series of letters to telecom providers, but they turned a deaf ear to the people’s plight.
In his response, Governor Mbah said a base station would be installed in the area to enhance access to the mobile network. “I have taken note of that.
I am going to ensure that action is taken to install a base station around that area, so that there will be a network for communities living around that area. I have just taken note of that. I will take action. Thank you for bringing that up,” he said.
The Chairman of the Concerned People of Ugbene Ajima, Tony Eze, also told journalists that the Governor had raised the hopes of Ugbene Ajima people with his promise to install a mobile telecommunications base station in the area.
He described the Governor’s intervention as timely, noting that despite the huge agricultural produce of Ugbene community, the area has been deprived of development due to the lack of a mobile network.
Eze said the installation of the base station by the Governor would definitely open up the communities for development, jump-start small businesses, and enhance swift responses to emerging local security challenges.
Ugbene Ajima, an agrarian community located 15 kilometers from Nsukka township, shares borders with Eziani, Nkpologu, Abbi, Nrobo, and Nimbo communities.
The Eziani-Ugbene-Ajima-Nimbo Road, constructed by the former Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has become the preferred route for motorists going to Adani and Anambra State.
Despite the huge agricultural potential of the community and business prospects as a transit town, the lack of a mobile network has left the community largely undeveloped and reminiscent of an earlier age.
