Residents of Nnobi in Idemili South Local Government Area, Anambra State on Monday staged a protest against the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, over plans to demolish over 1,000 houses.
The protesters, who marched through major roads in Nnobi carrying placards said TCN had marked buildings in the seven villages that make up Ebenesi, a quarter of Nnobi, and issued a 14-day ultimatum for landlords and residents to relocate.
They also claimed that TCN warned that structures not vacated would be demolished at owners’ expense.
The community President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, and Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo to provide an alternative residential area for them or in alternative urge the TCN to reroute the power lines underneath.
Addressing the protesters at the palace, the monarch of Nnobi, His Royal Majesty Engineer Muodum Nick Obi, represented by the palace Secretary, Chief Obianumba Ajaghaku assured the people that he would relay the request of the Ebenesi people to Governor Soludo adding that he felt the pains of the protesters..
”Nnobi is a densely populated area.There are sparsely populated areas I feel your pains. I will take your request to the Governor”, he said.
At the residence of the President General of Nnobi, Chief Olubialu who was flanked by the executives of Nnobi Welfare Organization (NWO), while receiving the the protesters said he had personally discussed the issue with a commissioner in the state.
He said that while it was necessary for development not to be overlooked, the matter would be handled carefully given the fact that the Land Use Act places ownership of Land in the hands of the government.
”We cannot overlook development. In one of my discussions with the commissioner, I told him to tell the TCN to come to us for discussion. This TCN line affected half of Awuda community and half of Ebenesi Community. We want development, but we want it in a way it won’t affect our people adversely. It touched you the way it touched us. We shall continue to see the government on the matter in a positive manner because according to the Land Act, government is the owner of land”, he said.
Chief Patrick Nwayaku , the Chairman of Amadunu, in his remark said the people were pleading with government to know that the marked areas for TCN line were the ancestral home of the people and that it was not previously marked for demolition for TCN line.
He said the issue began about fourteen years ago adding that the matter was in court between the community and the TCN.
” We are saddened to tell the TCN,, the government and physical planing board that the affected lands are our ancestral homes. There was never a time it was previously marked for demolition” , Nwayaku said.
Governor Soludo’s aide on Youth Reformation, Dr. Nelson Omenugha, assured the protesters that government would look into their grievances.
But, trouble erupted when Omenugha advised that development comes with a cost, a statement that irritated the protesters and finally leading to hot exchange of words among the protesters.
Omenugha was rescued by security operatives who led him to his car and he was driven away.
Earlier, the leader of the protesters and Chairman of Ebenesi Community, Chief Ikechukwu Oraka, said the TCN had given the affected landlords and residents a short notice of about fourteen days to relocate.
He stressed that the issue had cause deaths as some people had fallen sick when they learned that their houses were to be demolished for the TCN high tension line.
He urged the government to shelve compensation and give people alternative settlements or Urge the TCN to route the line underground .
One of the affected persons, Chief James Okeke among others, said they were not against development in the community rather they were seeking resettlements not compensation
He added: ” We are not saying that government should not bring development. we saying let it be planned well. Not just to come suddenly to displace us. Let them give us a place to resettle.”