The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ‘Demolished

  • Ogun pays N1b to owners of demolished structures 

    Ogun pays N1b to owners of demolished structures 

    Ogun State government has paid over N1 billion as compensation to owners of demolished structures, to pave the way for development.

    Director-General, Bureau of Lands and Survey, Mr. Biyi Ismail, presenting cheques, said the turnout of recipients at the bureau’s office in Oke-ilewo, Abeokuta, showed the people were happy with the government, adding that compensation was paid in Abeokuta, Sango, Ojodu, Ijebu-ode, Mowe, Akute, Oke-aro, Ofada, among others.

    He said: “It is very tough for someone to accept his or her building being demolished. But I thank you for your understanding. The government is taking this opportunity to compensate those whose houses, shops and workshops gave way for infrastructural development.’’

    Ismail assured indigenes and residents that development and expansion of roads would continue in other parts of the state, noting that affected people would be compensated.

    Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Alhaji Elias Ayinde Bameke said it was the sacrifice she had to make for development.

    She thanked the government for compensating them.

  • Kidnappers’ den demolished in Aba

    The Abia State government yesterday demolished five houses, allegedly being used as kidnappers’ den in Asa Umunka and Mkpukpuevula communities in Ugwunagbo Local Government.

    The demolition was supervised by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, his Special Adviser on Security, Capt. Awa Udonsi (rtd), Commander 144 Battalion Lt.-Col. Umar Kasim Sidi, Commissioner of Police Adeleye Oyebade, among others.

    Ikpeazu warned house owners against harbouring the criminals or risk their buildings being confiscated and demolished.

    “I salute the gallantry of security agents. There is a total war on kidnapping and other violent crimes.

    “Anybody caught will be prosecuted. Nobody should allow his property or premises be used for kidnapping. Citizens are urged to provide information to security agencies. Those who have information can send them through text messages and I assure them of confidentiality,” Ikpeazu said.

    Commissioner of Police Leye Oyebade identified owners of the demolished buildings as kidnappers, who abducted two workers of a brewery company in Aba, but were intercepted by the police at Orji Uzor Kalu Bridge, off Ngwa road.

    Oyebade said another set of hoodlums were arrested during a robbery in Aba, saying the Police Tactical Response Squad (TRS) would end kidnapping and other heinous crimes.

     

  • Why we demolished Otodo Gbame shanties, by govt

    The Lagos State Government yesterday explained why it demolished shanties and unwholesome habitation around Ilado and the seafront beside Freedom Road, in Lekki.
    The Ministry of the Environment carried out the action to forestall environmental disaster and the wind of skirmishes that led to the razing of Otodo Gbame community last November.
    The government also denied it took the action in defiance of a court judgment.
    In a statement, Commissioner for Information and Strategy Steve Ayorinde said the government’s action was informed by the overriding public interest to ensure that the waterfront is free from environmentally injurious and unsanitary habitation.
    Ayorinde noted that Otodo Gbame was one of the 39 communities that sued the government to enforce their fundamental rights before Justice S. A. Onigbanjo of the Lagos High Court, in Suit No. LD/4232MFHR/2016..AKAKPO & 38 ORS vs. AG L/S & 3 ORS.
    The judge, he said, did not deliver judgment on the matter but referred the parties to the Multi Door House for mediation.
    He said: “The leave granted to enforce their rights was tantamount to an order of status quo ante bellum on the parties, which amongst other things required that the claimants do not take any action within the area after it was destroyed by fire. “The undisputed fact is that Otodo Gbame was engulfed by fire that razed down the entire community in November 2016, which rendered the area uninhabitable’.
    According to the commissioner, since the claimants have submitted the case for adjudication, “it would be unacceptable for them to return to the area or to erect shanties and perpetuate unsanitary and environmentally dangerous conditions, hence, the need for the government to maintain order and public safety.”

  • Structures on reclaimed erosion sites to be demolished, says Obiano

    Structures on reclaimed erosion sites to be demolished, says Obiano

    Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano has said structures on erosion sites being reclaimed will be demolished.

    He told community leaders yesterday at Enugu-Ukwu in Njikoka Local Government, during presentation of cheques to victims by the Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) that people were directed to vacate recovered areas, to prevent a recurrence.

    The governor was represented by Environment, Beautification and Ecology Commissioner Mr. Ifeanyi Ejikeme.

    The commissioner, who is the Steering Committee chairman of NEWMAP, said previous owners could no longer lay claim to such land, as it was under the care of the state, Federal Government and World Bank for beautification.

    He said the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) programme was designed to assist those who would lose their farmland and economic trees during work at the four sites approved by a bank.

    “The government has paid the 2017 counterpart fund for the project. Anambra State is the first to do so this year.

    “We have come to compensate those who will be affected when work begins at erosion site in Enugu-Ukwu.

    “After compensation, we don’t expect anybody to go back to the reclaimed and bio-remediated sites.

    “It will be under the care of sponsors of NEWMAP, who could use such places for recreational or beautification purposes, to enable the areas heal.”

    Mrs. Ruth-Peter Mshelia from the Social and Livelihood Department of NEWMAP, Abuja, enjoined people to change their attitude to the environment, noting that erosion was man-made.

    She advised Enugu-Ukwu people to take ownership of the project.

    The Deputy Prime Minister of Enugu-Ukwu, Chief Clem Nwafor, said they were happy about the intervention, adding that people lived with the erosion for a long time.

    He thanked the World Bank and government for compensating the victims.

    Nwafor urged NEWMAP to engage competent contractors.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that cheques amounting to N10.4 million were issued to 76 households in the two erosion-ravaged communities of Urunebo and Enuoji in Enugu-Ukwu.

    This brings to a total of N37.1 million disbursed to 255 households under the RAP programme since March 6 in three towns.

    Sixty-four households at Umuoji in Idemili South Council received compensation amounting to N10. 4 million, while 85 households at Ogidi in Idemili North Local Government got N9.23 million for damages to their farmland and trees.

    One of the beneficiaries of the programme, Mr. Moses Okonkwo, advised youths to be involved in execution of the projects.

  • ‘Pay for our demolished shops’

    ‘Pay for our demolished shops’

    As the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) demolishes 378 shops, owners plead for compensation, reports GBENGA OMOKHUNU

    Again the bulldozers have moved in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and again the people whose facilities were destroyed have cried out.

    This time the demolition took place at Dei-Dei Tundun Fulani Pantaker Market where 378 shops were pulled down.

    It is a development with which residents of the nation’s capital and even beyond are familiar. The affected shopowners did not seem to be ready for any confrontations beyond asking for some compensation so that they could move on with their lives and businesses.   Since the demolition they have been finding life difficult, not knowing where to turn for assistance.

    The chairman of Pantaker Market Association Dei Dei Tudun Fulani Abuja, Alhaji Shehu Aliyu and its Secretary Manir Bello in a joint statement issued on the development and made available to Abuja Review said shop owners were not given fair hearing before carrying out the demolition exercise.

    They are begging the Minister of FCT, Malam Mohammed Bello to compensate them to enable shop owners start business somewhere else.

    The statement reads in part: “We the above named association hereby call on the attention of the minister of Federal Capital Territory, Malam Mohammed Bello in view of the recent demolition exercise carried out by the officials of the FCT administration in Dei-Dei Tundun Fulani Pantaker Market in which almost 378 shops were being demolished without giving us any fair hearing in line with fundamental right protection, despite that we have being duly reallocated from defunct new market to our new site Tundun Fulani Dei-Dei by the then Minister of FCT, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai including all the statutory allocation letters that is renewable after every five years in line with the requirement of the Abuja metropolitan management agency.

    “So, please, Minister, we are appealing to your good offices as a matter of justice, equity and fairness. We are demanding full compensation from FCT administration so that we can start our business somewhere else because most of us have been  crippled economically which also affected our family.

    “We are calling on you Sir, to set up a committee to checkmate certain unpatriotic acts in your administration because we have discovered that some individuals want to scuttle down this change that Nigerians are desiring for which God has granted.”

     

  • 161-year-old Ilojo Bar demolished

    161-year-old Ilojo Bar demolished

    AFTER standing for 161 years, Olaiya House (a.ka. Ilojo Bar), came down on Sunday.  The building, declared a national monument in 1956 by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments was demolished by developers.

    Located on 6, Alli and 2 Bamgbose Streets, CMS in Lagos Island, the structure which overlooked the Tinubu Square, was built as a bar and restaurant in 1855.

    It was initially named Casa do Fernandez before it renamed Ilojo Bar. The building was referred to as Olaiya House after it was sold to the Olaiya patriarch, Alfred Omolana Olaiya in 1933.

    Dissatisfied by its demolition, a former occupant, Olasupo Awobuyide, who claimed to have operated a lottery shop in the building, said the residents were not notified on the demolition day.

    Awobuyide, whose grandmother was a member of the Olaiya clan, disclosed that the property has been in dispute for some time.

    He said: “They did not call our attention to the fact that the house had been leased to a developer. The developer just came one day and said they wanted to demolish, promising to settle those who live there. That was since April, we did not agree. We don’t like the way they drove away those people occupying the building.”

    He noted that his father, Eric Awobuyide, an elder in the family, was not informed that the demolition would be carried out on Sunday, lamenting the destruction of his property, which he claimed was worth over N150,000.

    Meanwhile, veteran Highlife musician, Dr Victor Olaiya, another elder in the family could not be reached at press time.

  • ‘Compensate me over demolished buildings’

    President of Ogun State whose buildings were demolished in the ongoing exercise of urban renewal project of the state, Alhaji Bashiru Akinola Sekoni, has appealed to Governor Amosun to compensate him as he did to other victims of such demolition.

    Alhaji Sekoni accused Governor Amosun of denying him of his right of compensation as he has nobody godfather or anybody in government to plead his case as was done for some of the victims who eventually were compensated.

    Alhaji Sekoni, who apparently has been living in pains since his houses were demolished by the state government, recounts his ordeal to reporters at his residence in Lagos. He said his personal and family houses were among the buildings demolished at Adekunle Fajuyi Road, Odo Oyo, in order to make way for construction of roads.

    He is appealing to the state government to sympathise with him and compensate him with one of the flats built in the community just as it did to other victims of such demolition.

    According to him, Odo Oyo is his ancestral home and he holds many chieftaincy titles in the community and its environs. The titles, he said included Baba Adini of Odo Oyo Mosque, Chairman, Odo Oyo/Igbore Community, Giwa Adini of Igbore, Ekerin Adini of Odo Oyo, Ijeja Abeokuta.

    Denying him of compensation after demolishing his buildings, he said, is like ejecting him and his families from their ancestral home.

    He said the state government assured residents whose properties were marked for demolition that adequate compensation would be paid to them before their houses would be demolished, saying only few of the residents were compensated.

    According to Alhaji Sekoni, several letters have been written to the Governor’s Office concerning the issue without any response.

    He appealed to Governor Amosun to consider his plight and assign one of the flats to him so as not to lose everything.

  • Debt payment deferral not a bail out – Ministry

    Debt payment deferral not a bail out – Ministry

    The Ministry of Finance on Friday warned state governments that Thursday’s debt repayment deferral is not a bail out.

    The ministry in a statement said the deferral totaling N10.9 billion is to ensure that the states are in a better position to meet their salary obligations to workers.

    “We are not able to guarantee that all states will be able to meet their salary obligations, as each state’s situation is dependent on its own cost profile and other obligations it may have. But this initiative is to improve their position to do so.

    The ministry said all the states will receive the relief this month, adding that further deferrals will be subject to the agreement of a Fiscal Restructuring Plan to be prepared by each state with clear measurable objectives.”

    The ministry stressed that it is keen to ensure that the programme of financial discipline being driven by the federal government “is replicated in all tiers of government, including elimination of payroll fraud and increased spending efficiencies in overhead.”

     

     

  • Traders moan as Daleko market is demolished

    Traders moan as Daleko market is demolished

    Daleko Market, the popular rice trading post in Lagos, was demolished on Saturday, 48-hours before today’s expiration of the quit notice served the traders.

    Yesterday, the traders bemoaned the action, claiming that it breached their agreement with the market’s executive.

    The traders and the market were said to have agreed to develop the market. But the traders reportedly kicked when the executives said they would pay for the shops after the reconstruction of the market

    A trader, Musa Yahaya, said  many of them are not happy with the market head’s decision, adding: ”I sell rice and I have been in this market since 1983. It wasn’t the government’s decision. The came around 8am Yesterday asking us to vacate the place. It took them about 6hours to remove the roofs of the shops. It is the iyaloja general. We are not saying she shouldn’t develop the market but why should we pay for our shops. We were told that If we have documents or not, we would buy the shops. Is the notice fair enough? Where should I start from? I learnt some people have gone to the government but I am yet to get a response.”

    Mrs Tope Alimi, who also sells rice, said the quit notice was dated February 29, adding that she was shocked when some people came on Saturday with a truck of sand and gravel.

    “They are the government whatever they like, they should do. But they should remember we made them achieve where they are. We don’t have anywhere to go and I can’t go into prostitution. We don’t know their next step. We are not happy about it because I have been here for over 10 years,” she said.

    Another trader, Mrs. Idayat Badru, said she was inside her shop when the roof was removed.

    “We are not happy about it. They didnt tell us anything. The notice is not up to a month. We agreed with them on developing the market but not buying it after. As they removed the roofs, people where on standby to buy it. the iron rods, everything was soldI have been here for more than 30 years. It is really bad. We are not happy. They asked us to pay for the shops we bought. We have been selling at give away price because we don’t know where to store my goods. It is really a loss,” she said.

    When the Iyaloja-General of Lagos State, Mrs Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, was contacted on phone, she urged the reporter to book an interview appointment.

    Last Friday, the traders stormed the House of Assembly to protest.

    They carried placards with inscriptions, urging the Speaker Mudashiru Obasa come to their rescue.

    They accused the Mushin Local Government Council of conniving with a developer to demolish the market and re-allocate the shops to the rich.

    A trader, Mr Segun Okunola, said the protest was to get the Assembly to stop the demolition.

    Okunola said the two weeks given them to vacate the market was unfair, adding that the traders have been in the market in the past 30 years.

    Okunola said they got information that the market would be demolished yesterday, urging the speaker to use his office to stop the exercise.

    Okunola said the assembly was the traders’ last hope.

    Responding, Olayiwola Olawale, representing Mushin 11 Constituency, accompanied by three other members of the assembly, assured the traders that their grievances would be looked into.

    Olawale hailed them for their peaceful protest, promising that they would meet with the executive secretary of the council to get details of the matter.

  • Assembly visits demolished Mosafejo community

    Lagos State House of Assembly has intervened in the demolition of Mosafejo Community by Onigbongbo Local Council Development.

    Members of the House Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development led by Setonji David said their task was to ensure that the residents were not unjustly treated.

    David said: “We are here to establish that we are your true representatives, we feel what you feel and your Assembly will do all that is within our purview to protect what is right and just.

    “We shall be needing the photocopies of your documents for proof of ownership; those documents will assist us to establish certain facts in claiming ownership of the land in question”.

    Rasheed Makinde, a member of the delegation, said the House would invite Onigbongbo Local Council Development Area and the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development to another meeting over the matter.

    Meanwhile, the residents claimed to have lost an elderly man after the incident.

    The residents said they have been homeless, urging the law makers to help them reclaim their properties.