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Tag: asaba

  • Asaba 2018: Falling stadium water tank crushes cars [Photos]

    Asaba 2018: Falling stadium water tank crushes cars [Photos]

    A big water tank at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, venue for the 2018 African Senior Athletics Championships, on Thursday collapsed and crushed two cars parked outside the fence of the stadium.

    However, no one was injured in the incident.

    The water tank, which was mounted on iron stands, was meant to serve the swimming pool, which is still under construction, and some other parts of the stadium.

    While the athletes were competing, the tank crashed and destroyed parts of the stadium fence. The iron stands, on which the tank was mounted, tore the bonnet of a Sports Utility Vehicle while parts of the tank fell on another car.

    One of the eyewitnesses, Israel Chima, who lives in the street beside the stadium, told our correspondent that the incident occurred around 4.30pm.

    “I was outside the house when I heard a crashing sound. I turned to see what had happened and I saw that the tank had collapsed and water from it flooded everywhere,” he said.

    “The contractor did a very bad job because that tank was too heavy for the iron serving as its stands. They needed something stronger to hold such a big tank. Nobody was injured and that is why we are thanking God.”

    As of the time of filing this report, no rescue work was ongoing but some workers were seen salvaging what was left of the tank.

    …CAA, LOC apologise for competition problems

    President of the Confederation of African Athletics Hamad Malboum and chairman of the LOC for the 2018 African Senior Athletics Championships in Asaba, Solomon Ogba, have apologised to countries participating in the competition over the problems witnessed in the transportation of athletes from Lagos to Asaba for the event.

    Athletes from various countries were stranded in Lagos for some days, resulting in their late arrival in Asaba for the event which began on Wednesday. Some of the opening events were suspended due to the development.

    At a press conference on Thursday, which was attended by IAAF president Sebastian Coe, Malboum said the problems could not be avoided.

    “On the transfer of the athletes from Lagos to Asaba I apologise to the athletes,” the CAA boss said.

    “The plan, according to the information available to me, was for the aircraft to leave Lagos for Asaba immediately the athletes arrived. But for some technical reasons – weather and others – the plan failed and the LOC had to seek alternative ways of achieving the goal.”

    He added, “We must be tolerant; we must understand the situation and show our commitment and support. Lagos was supposed to host this championship. When I came for the Access Bank Marathon, I met the governor and we spoke about it. However, when they were supposed to come and collect the flag during the last African Championships in Durban, they didn’t come. We found the solution in Asaba because we wanted to keep the event in Nigeria, and now we have this beautiful stadium.”

    Ogba said, “I apologise for the shortcomings that have been experienced at this championship. We are not trying to blame anybody and we accept all shortcomings. Teams were supposed to provide their travel schedules to the LOC two days before arrival but many countries failed to do that and it affected our plans. All the athletes are here now and we were able to appeal to the technical committee to adjust the programme to capture every athlete at the event.

    “To ensure that there is a free movement out of Asaba, we have made plans for six planes to leave Asaba on August 6 (a day after the championship). However, that is dependent on the departure schedules sent to us by the federations, and their deadline for submission is today (Thursday).”

  • Asaba 2018: Asaba fans disappointed over Okagbare’s withdrawal

    Some fans in Asaba, Delta on Thursday expressed disappointment over Blessing Okagbare’s withdrawal from the 100m and 200m events at the ongoing 21st Africa Athletics Senior Championships.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Okagbare, the African 200 metres record-holder, was not on the starting list of the two events.

    Onome Moses, a civil servant, said she was unhappy when she got the news about Okagbare decision to pull out of the two events.

    “I am not criticising her for pulling out of her events but a lot of people are unhappy about the decision.

    “I would have loved to see her do her thing on the tracks here before her home crowd,’’ she said.

    Azino Ogaga, a teacher from Warri, said he was not surprised about Okagbare’s decision to pull out from the event.

    Ogaga said the 2008 Beijing Olympic bronze medallist had not been impressive since the beginning of the season.

    “I have been monitoring her performance since the beginning of the year in various IAAF events this year and she had performed below average.

    “I believe this may have influenced her decision to pull out, in order not to disappoint her home fans,’’ Ogaga said.

    Also, a businessman, Douglass Itaborunu, told NAN that the athlete shouldn’t have pulled out of the championship, knowing that her fans would be disappointed.

    “I don’t know if she is nursing any injury but her decision to quit is a bad one because Deltans are solidly behind her.

    “Even if she didn’t win any medal, we will still cheer her because she is our girl,’’ he said.

    Faith Chima, a civil servant, told NAN that Okagbare should not be criticised for pulling out of the events.

    Chima said the athlete had paid her dues in the sport, urging people to respect her decision.

    “Immediately the news about Okagbare filtered into the stadium on Wednesday, people started saying all sorts of unpleasant things about her.

    “Instead of all the criticisms, she should be supported,’’ he said.

    NAN reports that the athlete was inducted into the Confederation of African Athletics Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

    The five-day championships will end on Aug. 5.

    NAN

  • Delta Govt. requires N11.5bn to complete 3 projects in Asaba – Commissioner

    The Delta Government on Monday said that it would require N11.5 billion to complete three ongoing storm water routing projects in Asaba.

    The State Commissioner for Works, Chief James Augoye, disclosed this on Monday at the 2018 Ministerial Press Briefing organised by the State Ministry of Information.

    He said the state government, in its determination to address flooding in the capital, had engaged experts and undertook the study of the entire Asaba area.

    The commissioner said that at the end of the study, eight storm water channels were outlined with their corresponding costs of which three were identified to be strategic in the interim.

    He expressed optimism that the perennial flooding in the area would be a thing of the past after the completion of the projects.

    He said the government had already started the execution of the three major storm water routing projects in Asaba.

    ‘‘The first is the continuation and completion of the construction of the 2.44-kilometre length storm water control measures in Direct Labour Road (DLA) /Jesus Saves corridor in Asaba awarded on May 15, 2017 to CCECC at the cost of N1.7 billion.

    ‘‘The second is the construction of 4.33-kilometre length the storm water discharge channel along Delta Broadcasting Service (DBS)/ Umejei Adudu Way to Amilimocha River, Asaba, awarded to Setraco at the cost of N5.2 billion.

    ‘‘The third is the construction of 3.5-kilometres network channels storm water drainage along Amb. Ralph Uweche Way to Anwai River, Asaba, awarded to CCECC on Jan. 25 this year at the cost of N4.6 billon.’’

    He said that the projects were at various levels of completion, adding that the DLA/Jesus Saves project was 80 per cent completed, while the other two would be completed in 12 months’ time.

    The commissioner said that on completion of the storm water drainage project, flooding from the DLA, Jesus Saves, DBS Road, Maryam Babangida Way, Okpanam Road and other adjoining streets would be effectively evacuated.

    Augoye, however, said his ministry was facing challenges of funding, difficult terrains and unpredictable weather conditions which had had made road construction difficult in the state.

     

  • Delta Govt. to commence more flood control projects in Asaba

    The Delta Government says it is to embark on more storm water control projects in order to check incessant flooding in Asaba, the state capital.

    The state Commissioner for Works, Chief James Augoye, disclosed this at a meeting with engineers of the ministry in the 25 local government areas of the state on Thursday in Asaba.

    Augoye said that the construction sites of the storm water control projects would be located in Ralph Uwechue and DBS Roads in Asaba.

    He said that the water control projects in Uwechue and DBS roads would help to discharge rain storm water into the Anwai and Ailimocha Rivers respectively.

    He directed all contractors handing road projects in the state to go back to site before Monday next week, adding that time was of essence to the state government.

    The commissioner expressed displeasure over the attitude of some contractor who had refused to go back to their projects in spite of the payments made to them last December.

    Augoye advised the government contractors to make judicious use of the dry season, saying that rains would likely set in early this year as forecasted.

    He urged the engineers to do more by supervising the contractors closely to ensure that the jobs were done according to specifications.

    He also told the engineers not to hesitate to report any contractor who flaunted the directives.

    According to him, 2018 is a critical year to the state government because it precedes the 2019 election.

    “The state government will not leave any stone unturned to ensure that all ongoing projects are completed within the next dry season,’’ he said.

    Responding on behalf of the engineers, Mr. Eric Chuhwu, pledged their support to the actualisation of the programmes of the Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa-led administration.

     

  • Flood: Photos, video of rain-soaked Asaba

    As rain continues to relentlessly fall in its season, parts of Asaba, the Delta State capital, were submerged in flood yesterday following a heavy down pour which lasted for hours and caused gridlock on major roads, especially on Okpanam Road.

    Among the major roads that suffered from the torrential rain are, Okpanam Road, DBS Road, SSS Road, West end among others.

    The flood reportedly led to the collapse of parts of the fence of the State Broadcasting Station, DBS, also cut off the State Police headquarters and Okpanam village from the Asaba metropolis.