By Chesa Chesa
Enugu State governorship candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga, has demanded for public apology and compensation from Governor Peter Mbah and the State government for victims of the destruction of shops and business premises at the popular Ogige Nsukka market and other parts of of the State.
The demolition of centers of commerce and human habitation in Enugu metropolis, including; Gariki, Abakpa, and then Ogige market in Nsukka Local Government Area, carried out by Enugu State government officials on the excuse of rebuilding for public use, were done last month amid cries of anguish, hopelessness from the affected victims.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Monday, Edeoga lamented that “with regards to immediate impacts on the overall well-being of the directly affected persons, their dependents, and their sources of income and sustenance, the devastation was clearly reminiscent of the horrors of the 1966 to 1970 Nigerian civil war and its immediate aftermath.
“Vast settlements at Okpara Avenue, containing iconic buildings, banks, schools, SMEs, an orphanage run by the Red Cross, transport terminals, etc., were all crushed in a destructive rage that was fuelled by motives that are still unfolding.”
He pointed out that Ogige-Nsukka market “is at once an emporium, a cultural center, and a daily market that serves both the interest of the locals of the immediate Nsukka environment and other buyers and sellers from Kogi, Benue, and other parts of Northern Nigeria”.
Edeoga stressed that no alternate arrangement was made for the traders before they were violently dislodged and displaced; and that contrary to government’s claims, most, if not all the traders and other victims have not received a dime from the state government as compensation for the losses inflicted upon them, even as provisions of the Land Use Act have been flagrantly disobeyed.
He therefore, made the following demands: “Enugu state governor, Mr. Peter Mbah should admit that his clearly unconstitutional actions have occasioned monumental harm on several households, possibly outstripping whatever benefits that may possibly accrue from the transport terminals, the purported purpose of which he has wrecked the unfolding tragedy on the means of livelihood of persons in Enugu state. In these times of unprecedented economic stress, the Governor should take immediate remedial actions as the occasion warrants.
“The first step is for relief markets to be expeditiously provided at strategic points in parts of the state for the immediate use of the displaced traders.
“Similarly, persons and institutions like IfesinachiTransport Ltd, Peace Mass Transit, and others whose establishments were destroyed in evident error should be restituted.
“It is important for just and reasonable compensations to be paid to those whose shops, chattels, and other valuables were destroyed.
“Mr. Peter Mbah should make a public broadcast to the people of Enugu State asking for forgiveness and appeal for healing for the pains caused by his peremptory and excessive use of the power of the office of the governor of Enugu State.”
