Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State | File Image
Ebonyi govt: We gave them three years notice before demolition
By Nweze Anaga,
Abakaliki
Ebonyi State government has demolished buildings and stalls worth billions of naira in Abakaliki, the state capital, to give way for the construction of a flyerover along Ogoja road and Vanco junction.
The worst hit in the exercise at the weekend were traders, who complained that they were not notified before the demolition of their shops.
Those, who spoke to Nigeria news Flight in Abakaliki on Wednesday lamented that they did not make plan for the relocation of their remaining wares.
For instance,two of the affected traders, who simply gave their names as Anayo and Chimezie said that consequent upon the exercise their goods had been left outside, while the government was not talking of compensation.
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Anayo said, “It is not as if we don’t like development; but this demolition affected me a lot. There was no information or notice giving to us to vacate this place before this demolition.
“See how everybody is running helter skelter; some even sustained injury. We don’t even have a place to pack our goods. We are not happy at all.
“We are not saying that development is not good but we should have been given notice and compensation to enable us vacate before this.”
When contacted for his reaction, the state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Engr. Lebechi Mbam, said that the allegations from the traders were false because government gave them three years notice before coming to demolish the shops and residential buildings.
On compensation, he said that all landlords in the area had been directed to go to the Ministry of Works for documentation.
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