2,000 protest against demolition of houses in Ebonyi

Posted by admin Ebonyi, State News Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

A group of protesters numbering over 2,000, on Tuesday, staged a peaceful demonstration in major streets of Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, against the state government’s alleged demolition of their houses in Agbaja community of Abakaliki Local Government Area of the state.

The protesters, comprising the aged, men, women, youths and children, marched through the popular Ogoja road, to the Government House, before they were accosted by a combined team of security agents that prevented them from reaching the state seat of power.

They carried placards with various inscriptions, “Govt we need peace”, “Provide us Accommodation,” “Save us from this hardship of demolition of our houses,” among others.

They decried the alleged demolition of their houses by agents of government laying pipes across the community for the water reticulation of the state capital.

A spokesperson of the group, Mr Kelvin Uguru, disclosed that their grievances stemmed from the fact that their community was yet to be paid compensation by the government for the acquisition of their land used for the construction of the new secretariat of the state.

He said they were also protesting against the state government’s directive to relocate the rice mill from Abakaliki to Ikwo.

In his reaction, the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Chike Onwe, said that the protesters were not sincere in their alleged grievances, stating that the state government had put machineries in place to ensure adequate payment of compensation for lands it acquired.

He said the state government was committed to the enthronement of clean and environmentally decent capital city.

-Tribunewp_posts