Over 500,000 residents of Yache communities in Yala Local Council of Cross River State have alerted the government to years of infrastructure neglect in the area, calling on the South-South Development Commission (SSDC) to urgently restore electricity in the communities.
   
In a letter by the Cross River State Commissioner for Education, Professor Stephen Odey, to the SSDC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the residents lamented life in the agrarian communities.
   
According to the letter, the absence of electricity, good roads and potable water has crippled development and left residents isolated in spite of their contributions to the state’s economy and political landscape.
   
Odey also drew attention to the political significance of the Yache people, saying their contribution to democratic participation is substantial and deserving of government attention.
   
“The people of Yache occupy a dominant land mass in the north-eastern flank of Yala Local Council with an estimated population of over half a million people,” the letter partly read.
   
“The communities stretch up to the boundary with Benue State with extensive agricultural practice in assorted agricultural products that feed the state and beyond.”
   
However, it regretted that due to the continued absence of electricity, good roads and potable water supply, the communities, which include Alifokpa, Uchu, Ijiegu, Wonye, Osina and Mbuo, have little or no development due to infrastructure neglect.
 
Against this background, the Yache communities said they were bringing this precarious situation to the SSDC for its attention and intervention.
   
The appeal comes amid increasing calls for accelerated rural infrastructure development across Cross River State, particularly in agricultural communities considered critical to food security and economic growth.