Maduako Igbokwe I Saturday, December 10, 2022
AWKA, Anambra – A human rights activist, Comrade Osita Obi has raised alarm over demolition of his house by the Anambra State Governor Prof Charles Soludo.
The Anambra State Government demolished his newly constructed duplex located in the Executive Business District area of Awka, near 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 with intention to pack in this December.
” The land was allocated to Anambra State House members under Peter Obi administration and I bought mine from Hon. Vivian Okadigbo who was a member 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 on Thursday.
“I have my documents including the approved plans by ACTDA, a government agency permitting me to build my house ” he said. Obi who was in a painful mode, said 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 Soludo 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 saving in civil service to raise home for the family and somebody demolished it because he is in power.
“I learnt 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 the worst was that they never gave him a notice of intention to demolish the house, stressimg that if they had, he would have taken some needed items away.
According to him, after the demolition they appropriated his water tanks and other household items to themselves.
“My pain is not that the house was demolished, after all, 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 from 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 saving and retirement fund to buy the land and also construct the building. The land was legally acquired, and even my building plan was approved by government” he said .
Meanwhile, officials of Awka Capital Territory Development Authority (ACTDA) said they have demolished and recovered illegally acquired lands and properties 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 want to develop before embarking on development to avoid regrets.
