ANAMBRA COMMUNITY PROTESTS PLANNED DEMOLITION OF HOUSES FOR POWER PROJECT
Read Time:2 Minute, 48 Second
By; Sunmola Ganiyat
Indigenes of Ebenesi Community in Nnobi, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, have protested against the planned demolition of their ancestral homes to make way for a power transmission project.
The protesters appealed to President Bola Tinubu and Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, to intervene in the dispute between the community and the Transmission Company of Nigeria over the project.
The residents staged the protest on Tuesday at the Obi Ezenabo Traditional Centre in Ebenesi, where they alleged that more than six elders had collapsed and died after officials marked their houses for demolition.
They claimed that affected property owners had been given 14 days to demolish their buildings or risk having them pulled down by the government, with the landlords allegedly expected to bear the cost.
Speaking during the protest, the Chairman of Ebenesi Community, Chief Okechukwu Oraka, said the residents opposed the demolition because no arrangement had been made to relocate those whose homes would be affected.
Oraka also alleged that the power line project was diverted to Nnobi after initially being planned for other areas.
He said the community was not opposed to infrastructure development but insisted that the government should consider the welfare of residents who would be displaced by the project.
According to him, Ebenesi is densely populated and has limited available land for relocation.
Oraka said the community had occupied the area for more than 200 years and urged the government to consider alternative routes if the project must pass through Nnobi.
He suggested that the power transmission lines could be constructed underground to avoid demolishing residential buildings.
The protesters, including youths, elderly men and women, carried placards and chanted songs rejecting the proposed demolition and the routing of the project through Nnobi.
They appealed to the Federal and state governments to relocate the project to another area or adopt an alternative construction method that would protect residential buildings.
Representatives of other affected villages in Ebenesi also called for the relocation of the project or the adoption of measures that would prevent the demolition of homes.
An 81-year-old retired civil servant, Mrs Comfort Ngwudo, who spoke on behalf of residents above 80, urged the government to consider the social impact of the project on the community.
She questioned the decision to displace residents from ancestral land that had been occupied by their families for generations, calling for policies that would protect rather than harm communities.
The protesters later extended their demonstration to Awuda and Ngo, two other quarters in Nnobi, including the palace of the traditional ruler, Igwe Nick Obi, and the residence of the President-General of Nnobi, Chief Sir Aloy Olubialu.
The traditional ruler, through his Palace Secretary, Ichie Obianumba Ajayiaku, and Olubialu commended the protesters for remaining peaceful and assured them that their grievances would be presented to the appropriate authorities.
However, a top official of the Anambra State Physical Planning Board, Cletus Ohame, said the demolition notices were duly served on the affected landlords.
Ohame explained that the area had been earmarked for the power line project for several years, adding that the development was part of an infrastructure project.
“The affected landlords were duly served with notices. The area was earmarked for the power line project many years ago, and they should know that it is about infrastructural development,” he said.
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