Umuahia road expansion: Govt. happy with building owners cooperation
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
About 60 percent of buildings marked for demolition for construction of the Ossah-Okpara Square road six-lane expansion project have been achieved without any hitch.
The road which is a major entrance into Umuahia, the Abia State capital from the Port Harcourt-Aba expressway, was flagged off by the state Governor, Dr. Alex Otti on Tuesday, September 27, 2023.
Construction of the road earlier slated to commence in July was held up by issues of payment of compensation to owners of the 130 buildings marked for demolition to give way for the construction work.
Through stakeholders’ engagements between the government and host communities, including the affected landlords, an agreement was reached and government promised to pay the compensation in full before commencing the demolition exercise.
While flagging off the road construction, Governor Otti said government has fulfilled its own side of the bargain by paying all house owners in full before calling out the bulldozers.
While briefing newsmen after the State Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, the Commissioner for Information said the demolition exercise was progressing smoothly.
“The demolition exercise on the Ossah-Okpara Square road has started. Of course, you all were there last week when the road was flagged off. I want to announce to you that about 60 percent has been achieved of the demolition, and has been a very successful one. You will agree with me that this is the first time a government will want to demolish structures and those who are affected, the owners of the structures, will go ahead themselves to carry out the demolition and this speaks to what the state government stands for.
“This is a government that listens to the people, a government that wears a human face in the way it deals with the public. For us to have achieved this level of compliance on that Ossah-Okpara Square road project, there were serious stakeholder engagements. Compensation was paid to those affected and, of course, there was adequate communication to explain to the people what the project was all about.
“A combination of all these factors have served to ensure that that exercise has continued at pace and there is no problem. I believe it is a credit to the state government on the way it carries out its activities,” the Commissioner said.
On the seeming controversy as to whether every person to be compensated has been paid, the General Manager of Umuahia Capital Development Authority (UCDA), Mr Kingsley Agomoh, argued that those claiming that some people have not been paid ought to have presented facts, stressing that the process leading up to payment of compensation was very transparent.
“Those claiming that some persons have not been paid compensation should have listed names of those yet to receive theirs. They should have spoken with facts. I have messages from people confirming receipt of their alerts. When people receive alerts, they keep quiet.
“The truth of the matter is that the government is going on this assignment with a human face and there is no rancour. People are removing their property on their own. Even the people in the (Ogwumabiri) market, came together and sold the roof for N800, 000, the iron rods, somebody bought it and they shared the money. These are things we can verify.
“It was a transparent process. Everybody was engaged from the beginning, you are allowed to get your own valuer, government brought their own, you reconcile. So the whole thing was transparent. So, I think we should be able to applaud government for this,” Agomoh said.
