Shop owners in Umuahia remove roofs and doors as demolition approaches

Some of the affected owners have already started relocating their properties as a result of the Abia State government’s statement last week that the demolition of affected houses for the Ossah-Okpara Square Road expansion will start shortly.

By taking this precaution, you will not be caught off guard by government bulldozers.

The affected residents of Ossah Ibeku and Ohuhu villages and other claimants were informed last week during a town hall meeting by the state commissioner for lands and housing, Chaka Chukwumerije, that Governor Alex Otti had approved the payment of their entire compensation.

The demolitions will start after the property owners received their money in their bank accounts, he added, after the payments started last weekend.

The Abia State Ministry of Works marked 130 buildings that would be affected by demolitions for the road expansion, and the Lands and Housing Commissioner used the town hall meeting to inform those in the area of this. He promised that only those structures would be demolished after their owners had received compensation.

The Commissioner stated that the owners had previously been given six weeks to relocate in response to some tenants’ request for the State government to extend their time to do so. He added that there might not be any additional extensions.

He did not, however, specify the precise day when demolition would start.

On Monday, an OBASANJO NEWS24 reporter took a tour of Okigwe Park in Ossah and discovered that the owners of more than 15 buildings had removed the roofs and iron doors.

Additionally, several property owners could be observed directing the removal of their own possessions in preparation for eventual demolition.

It is unclear whether people who had their possessions removed had already received their compensation or not, as one native of Ossah who spoke to this reporter claimed that the matter of payment is a matter of confidence between him and the State administration.