The Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has promised to compensate all persons whose residential buildings were demolished during the ongoing widening of Afor Nnobi roundabout in Idemili South LGA of the state.
The governor also directed the Commissioner for Works, Arc. Okey Ezeobi, to facilitate the construction of beneficial accommodation and subsequent relocation of three persons whose residential homes were demolished.
This was disclosed during a meeting between the governor, Nnobi traditional ruler, Igwe Nick Obi, and stakeholders of the town at the Light House, Awka, on Wednesday, September 16.
The meeting may be connected to the public outcry and condemnation by traders, local indigenes, and activists over the destruction of properties and sources of livelihood during the demolition.
Soludo said the demolition and subsequent construction work were meant to widen the Afor Nnobi roundabout into a five-lane junction, so that the gridlocks previously associated with the junction, especially during festive seasons, would become a thing of the past.
While enumerating the benefits of the ongoing reconstruction, the governor said he had the interests of Anambra and Nnobi people at heart, adding that those badly affected by the exercise would not be abandoned.
Soludo suggested that delaying the demolition exercise for another 10 to 20 years could affect more properties, as further development may have taken place by then.
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Earlier, the President General of Nnobi Town Union, Chief Sir Alloy Olubialu, said the purpose of the meeting was to allow Nnobi stakeholders and the Anambra State Government to discuss the relocation of Afor Nnobi market to a new site, as well as possible compensation for people whose houses and means of livelihood were affected by the demolition.
He said the community came to present the people’s predicament to the governor and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to do so.
Ezeonu thanked the traditional ruler and the President General for their harmonious cooperation, which he said had helped the town move forward and enabled the people to live in peace.
Nairametrics had earlier published an article in which a prominent son of Nnobi, Obinna Ufudo, condemned the destruction of the Afor Nnobi market, saying that silence on the development could become complicity.
He said he watched with disbelief as the economic nerve centre of his hometown was demolished in the name of development, first with the destruction of a significant portion of the market and adjoining properties for road dualisation, and now with the destruction of the market for a proposed flyover at Nnobi Junction.
The latest meeting brings compensation and the relocation of affected residents and traders into discussions surrounding the ongoing reconstruction of Afor Nnobi roundabout and market.
