Retirees and landlords at Olympic Layout, a residential area on the outskirts of Enugu, have lamented a forced eviction due to an N8m infrastructure levy mandated by Governor Peter Mbah.

Since April, residents have been locked in a standoff with the state government over the policy, which requires them to pay N10,000 per square metre as an infrastructure fee and an additional N4,000 per square metre for a Certificate of Occupancy.

It was gathered that a plot measuring about 540 square metres, the total bill is close to N8m, which residents said is higher than the market value of their properties.

The chairman of Olympic Layout, George Agusi, said, “We are not against the government imposing a levy, but if they want to impose, they should use a human face.

“How can somebody, after using all his savings and gratuity to buy land from a community, and after so many years, the government come demanding this outrageous payment? Most of our people are retirees, many of them widows. How could they get close to N8 million to pay? That means we are repurchasing our land.

“Even if you have close to N8m, where do you bring that kind of money at this hard time? There are other meaningful things you can use your money to do. After buying a land, somebody will come and tell you that you must pay, or it will be reallocated. I am asking them: even if we must pay, reduce it so that people can pay.”

Agusi added that many plots in Olympic Layout were worth less than the levies being demanded.

“You can’t sell a plot here for N7m. Yet the levy is more than that. How do you ask a retiree to pay N8 million for a property that isn’t worth that much?”

Our correspondent, who visited the layout, observed that the area, accessed through Agbani road by One Day Bus Stop, shows visible signs of neglect.

One of the landlords in the area, Ede Ezekiel, explained, “The settlement we have been looking for between the two warring communities, Umu-Ugwu Akum Akwuke, our original landlord, and Etiti Ngwo, is the problem that is telling on us. We need the government to settle the crisis for us to have peace here.

“If you go to ENGIS, the original buyer registers with N100,000, and they will collect from you and still collect N100,000 from the same people who bought from Etiti Ngwo on the same plot of land. Isn’t this double registration?” one resident asked.

“I retired from public service in February 2021, and four years down the line, my gratuity is not yet paid. From little savings from my meagre salary while in service, I acquired a plot of land in this layout and built a little structure that gave me the leverage of not being a tenant after retirement, because that is the worst thing that can happen to a public servant when you are no longer paid.

“Now the government wants to reallocate it to others because I cannot pay the levy imposed on us. I am appealing to the government to please reduce the infrastructure levy to N1 million and give us time,” a landlord in the area, Innocent Ekwu, said.

The Enugu State Geographic Information System Services, in a June 3, 2025, letter to the Olympic Layout Board of Trustees, defended the levy as part of a regularisation process to bring the layout under the state’s development masterplan.

“The land currently under your association’s management is classified as Crown Land, which is legally owned by the state government,” wrote ENGIS Executive Director, Mr. Chiwetalu Nwatu.

“The compulsory infrastructural development fee of N10,000 per sqm is essential to cover the costs of basic infrastructure, which is lacking in the area. It is not a penalty but rather a contribution towards ensuring that the land can be brought up to acceptable living standards.”

He said the government had extended the payment window for the initial 30 per cent of the levy by 30 days, from June 15 to July 14, 2025, and would allow residents to pay in two instalments. (Saturday PUNCH)