By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

A tenant with the Iyienu Mission Hospital, Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Rev Ben Ubakaeze, has vowed not to vacate the premises until he gets a N36 million pay-off from the management of the hospital.

He said the demanded sum would serve as the money expended in developing the facility over the years. According to him, the facilities include a provision store and a park. The cleric was given six months’ quit notice by the hospital’s owners, the Anglican Church, which expired on January 31, 2020.

He said he had a 30-year lease agreement with the church which started running from 2014.

The cleric added: “The N36 million claim is for cleaning up the place and setting up structures for the business on the premises of the hospital as well as the profit I would have made from 2014 to 2044 if not ejected from facility.

“I started business here in 2014 and they want me to quit without recouping what I spent in setting up the business.

“If they must eject me from their facility, they will pay me the sum of N36 million as expenses and what I would have made as gain; otherwise I will not leave the place.

“They also told me to give the space a befitting look as a park/shop/relaxation center, and I did by spending a lot on different types of carpet grass, I planted in and around the space after the refuse dump had been evacuated.”

The lawyer for Iyienu Hospital, Dr Emma Ezeugo, has however denied that the management entered into any agreement with Ubakaeze.

He stressed that the place was already in existence before Ubakaeze was allowed to stay there.

“It is impossible for a dump site to exist side by side with a hospital. Rather, the place was already a beautified park and Ubakaeze was only directed to bring in a container to sell his goods.

“He was given six months quit notice which expired on January 31, 2020 and seven days grace was also given to him to quit, but he refused, and we decided to drag him to court instead of using self-help,” Ezeugo said.

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