Activist Laments Demolition of His Property by Gov. Soludo

FROM OUR NEWS DESK (AWKA)

A human rights activist, Comrade Osita Obi has raised alarm and lamented over the demolition of his house by the  Anambra State Governor, Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo.

The Anambra State Government has demolished his newly constructed duplex located at the Executive Business District area of Awka, near the abandoned Anambra State Government House.

Obi who raised the alarm over the destruction stated that he legally acquired the land and also got approvals from Awka Capital Territory Development Agency (ACTDA) before he started building the house and completed it to pack this December.

“The land was allocated to   Anambra State House members under Peter Obi administration and I bought mine from Hon. Vivian Okadigbo a former member of the Anambra State House Assembly. Even the present Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, the same man who is supervising the demolition benefited from the allocations, though he sold out his portion to one Nnamdi Okafor who was buried last Thursday.

I have my documents including the approved plans by ACTDA, a government agency permitting me to build my house ” he said. 

Comrade Obi who was in a painful mood recalled that the house was built by his wife, who just retired from one of the federal government agencies after 35 years of service.

“She used her pension money to build the house that was demolished without any official communication,” he said.

According to him, since the unfortunate demolition, his wife has been crying uncontrollably because she used 35 years of her savings in civil service to raise a home for the family and somebody demolished it because he is in power.

“I learned Soludo said they will pay us compensation, do they want to kill my wife first so that I will use the money they will pay me to bury her?”  he asked

He said that worst of it all was that they never gave him a notice of intention to demolish the house, noting that if they had, he would have taken some needed items away.

According to him, after the demolition, they packed his water tanks and other household items to themselves. “My pain is not that the house was demolished, after all, the government once told us late this year, that the area had been re-acquired by it and that the houses built there will be demolished.

“But my pain is that when they wanted to demolish it, they didn’t even notify us so that we can remove some useful items in the house. My wife has been in tears since after the demolition. She has been crying ceaselessly.

“That house was built by my wife, even one Kobo of mine did not go into it. My wife is a retiree from a federal government agency, and she used her life savings and retirement benefits to buy the land and also construct the building. The land was legally acquired, and even my building plan was approved by the government” he said.

Meanwhile, officials of Awka Capital Territory Development Authority (ACTDA) while reacting said they have demolished and recovered illegally acquired lands and property within the new Government House, Awka.

The ACTDA Head of Development Control, Mr. Charles Ekwunife said that the agency had issued more than five warnings to the developers to stop work but they could not listen.

Mr. Ekwunife stated that the area where they erected the illegal structures was the land meant for the new Government House.

The ACTDA Head of Development Control warned developers within the Capital Territory to always visit the Agency’s office in Awka to ascertain the authenticity of the land or property they would want to develop before embarking on them to avoid regrets.