By CHARLES IWUOHA

In its bid to restore the aesthetic value and master plan of Abakaliki Capital City, the ministry of Capital City and Urban Development on Wednesday demolished over 30 uncompleted illegally constructed shops and containers mounted in unauthorized areas within the metropolis.

Speaking during the demolition exercise at Central Park axis, Ochudo Centenary city, the Commissioner for Capital City Development, Chief Sunday Inyima, said that the owners of the illegal structures were properly notified before the action was taken.

The Commissioner noted further that the demolished structures were built on a place designated as service lane and build without any approval from the ministry, hence the need to remove them.

Inyima said: “This place you’re seeing is a service lane and people started building shops here and we feel it’s not normal. Opposite here, you can see the international market where people can do their business, so this is not acceptable to Government and that’s why Government frowns at and that’s why we have come to ensure that all these structures are removed.

“From our records, the owners did not secure any approval from the ministry of Capital City.

“In August 2023 we issued them ‘stop work and removal’ notice but as you can see, they couldn’t remove it and that is we are here to help remove it.

“Bearing the cost of the removal, well in the interim, we want to sanitize the city. The capital City ministry of course, is bearing the cost of the removal, but we further go into it and know who pays the final cost.

On whether the owners of the property are known to Government, here’s what the Commissioner said.

“The owners are known and some of them are not known. I don’t know all the owners but some people called when we wrote this thing and we actually told them that this is not proper that they should remove it, but to our greatest shock, the structures are still here that’s why we’re here today, after a warning and notice we gave in August 2023.

He, however, called on intending developers to ensure they get approval from the ministry before erecting the structure to avoid being demolished.

“We have posted announcement on various media platforms including social media. Ebonyi state have come of age. We want to look like other cities you can think of across the country, that is why we started with the removal of shanties, batchers and containers.

“We are going further on that because our announcement is still ongoing on radio and then you can see this. We’ll also enter into areas where we have people who build on water ways, blocking water and drainage ways for other people and then coursing havoc for other inhabitants of the city.

“We are still coming for those people. And so, the right thing to do is, before you erect any physical structure within the capital city, come to ministry of Capital City and urban development and obtain your approval.”

The containers were removed at water works axis of Abakaliki metropolis after repeated notice and warnings to that effect from Government to the owners fell on deaf ears.

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