Delta government goes hard, demolishes structures in alleged government land

The people of Okpanam community, a suburb of Asaba, the Delta state capital, have said that if the state government continues in its threat to pull down buildings in the core area of the Asaba Capital Territory, its end would cost the Okowa government the second term bid come 2019.

Aggrieved owners of buildings which were broken down by the state task force on revalidation of buildings in the area are angry over the action of the team led by Frank Omare, a former commissioner for environment in the erstwhile administration of former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan.

Demolished structures in Okpanam

Omare, who during his days as commissioner for environment, pulled down buildings in Warri, Sapele and other areas of the state, on Wednesday, took bulldozers and began executing its threat after a long time of warning, urging the landlords in the area to either pay the revalidation fee or watch their buildings level down.

The state government said buildings in the area were not properly documented by the ministry responsible for such documentations, hence landlords in the area were billed great amount to pay and get their structures revalidated or get them pulled down and the land taken over by the state government.

For many years, residents in the area, including journalists from national dailies working in the state, civil servants have enjoyed their stay in the area. The area also has schools and churches. They were billed according to the land mass covered and the nature of structure.

But after much pleading, it was learnt that the amount was brought down from N1million to N750,000 and the landlords were given a specific time frame to pay up or their buildings will go down.

But many were of the reasoning that the threat might not come to fruition, putting it aside with a wave of the hand. But on Wednesday, February 8, 2017, Omare and his team began warning demolition of fences, insisting that if the affected landlords fail to comply, they will have themselves to blame, their buildings will go with no place to lay their heads.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa

While some fences were demolished on Wednesday, some properties were sealed. As the exercise lasted, the gates of most of the landlords who were not available and with no evidence of payment as at the time of the exercise, were put under lock and key, while the fences of some were pull down.

Omare told journalists that day one operation was a warning signal to those who are occupying government lands to regularize their documents by paying the approved amount issued by government, noting that the state government is prepared to enforce the law to the letter.

He said the state government is aware of the fact that times are hard, that is why the state governor in his magnanimity gave a 50 per cent discount, asking Deltans to pay the sum of N750,000 from the initial N1.5million.

He urged those affected to comply in order to have their building approval as well as their certificate of occupancy so that no government after this administration will say they are occupying government land.

Omare expressed dismay that Deltans who are occupying government lands are oppressing the state government by non-compliance to the land regulation law, adding that it is a crime that government will not accept and is ready to step on toes to make progress.

According to him: "Nigerians are blackmailing the state government on the social media and through secret reports, government is not going to yield to such blackmail for anything, because we feel government must move on.

“Those who are engineering others not to pay we know them, the funny thing is that they will tell others not to pay yet they go behind and make their own payment.

We are sealing their gates so that they cannot drive in and they broke the chain, then they will face the punishment of the law."

He acknowledged that despite the recession, some citizens have made payment in full, others have made half payment while some have made payment below the margin.

He asserted that, it shows that Deltans are respecting the rules and the law, adding that it is the reason why the operation is starting with a warning for others to comply as soon as possible.

"Today is just a warning, tomorrow and next will be different, they are trying but when you say, no, I am a brother to the governor, I am a cousin to the president, I am a brother to Frank Omare, or I came from Warri so I won't pay.

You are deceiving yourself because there will be no selective punishment, it is an all-round operation because they have oppressed the state government enough". Omare stated.

But some of the landlords whose buildings are under threat, have disagreed with the stand of Omare, saying it is wrong for government to rise against a whole quarter of a town and demand payment for revalidation of properties that have been in existence over the years.

Some said the pain being inflicted on the people by the Okowa’s government would cost him his second term bid as the people of the state would turn their backs against the governor in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.

A resident told NAIJ.com that the fences which were pulled down in the area were systematically supervised by the Okpanam boys, alleging that the Okpanam boys did that so that they could go back and resell the demolished areas to unsuspecting buyers.

A pastor in one of the new generation churches, was lucky as his house narrowly escaped being pulled down by the taskforce. He said he had to sell an abandoned car in his compound for N70,000 to pay as instalment prior till when he would raise the N750,000 imposed on them by the Delta state government.