Ebonyi state government Thursdays demolished not less than 30 shops built in shanties along Murtala Mohammed Hausa quarter, leach road, waterworks road in Abakaliki the state capital.
The shops according to the state Commissioner of Capital City and Urban Development, Mr. Sunday Inyima, defaced the city.
Mr. Inyima noted that several notices were given to the property owners starting from the past administration of Governor David Umahi till the present administration in the state before demolition.
He regretted that the owners of the properties paid deaf ears to the several warning of the government which was constantly done on radio and other media stations in the state.
“Notice was actually given by successive administration before the administration of Rt. Hon Ogbonna Nwifuru and when we came onboard, around November last year we gave a fresh notice and removal order to all the people that are owners of these shanties and makeshift buildings.
On December last year, we repeated the reminder.
“Abakaliki has grown into a metropolis like other cities you can think about and we cannot continue to condone this.
“As you can see, this flyover here is from government House and the road here takes you to the Ebonyi state House of Assembly, what if the state has a high profile personality that visits the state and wants to go to the state house of Assembly, will it be good for us to be showcasing shanties or makeshift structures? No, that is why we have insisted that they must remove it and we have come to help them to do so.
“We will continue with this,from here, we are moving to waterworks road, leach road, anywhere we see illegal structures within the urban city. Let us first of all sanitize the urban and then we will begin to go into other areas of building control.
“On the space created, we have to give a proper set back of road and the drainage and when we do that the owner of these properties can as well design a beautiful edifice that can actually take the place. So that if you are driving through this road they will be that esthetic, the ambiance that you are truly in a capital city.
“You can see for yourself,this drawing I have with me, the Saraki and the Secretary of Hausa community, they are actually the owners of this place, Hausa quarters and this is what they want to build here. You can agree with me that if a proper setback is taking and a structure like this done everybody will be happy”.
Meanwhile owners of the demolished shops were seen trying to savage their goods and properties while some were crying and lamenting on the funds they spent in making the structures as it was their source of livelihood.
Shanties demolished includes;pharmacy store, foodstuffs shops, electronics shops, tailoring shops, among others.
