Secret Reporters No place to hide
Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Works, Mr Ephraim Inyang, Wednesday, demolished three houses located opposite Governor Udom Emmanuel mansion in Awa, ONNA Local Government Area of the state.
Propellerng.com gathers that the three houses were demolished for purpose of converting the land to visitor’s car park for the governor of Akwa Ibom.
In an interview at the site of the demolished structures, the Family head of the affected victims, Mr Inikon Inikon, lamented how Mr Inyang allegedly led a combined team of military personnel to demolish three houses in the area.
“We were inside our houses, When (Ephraim) Inyang came with a team of military men and asked us to leave but we refused because we have no other place to go.
“The military men started pulling down our houses destroying property worth millions of naira,’’ Inikon said.
He cried that the State Government had rendered them homeless because they want to use the land for visitor’s car park in the area.
“Look at us, we are homeless, we prayed that God to give us a Governor but now we are forcefully ejected from our land.
“They want us the entire Atong Inokon family land to build visitor’s car park for the Governor,’’ he said.
Our Correspondent reports that the houses destroyed were thatched houses and their properties were destroyed alongside the buildings.
Mr Inokon revealed that the houses demolished were in his ancestral land in Awa, ONNA local government area of the state.
When contacted for his reaction on the matter, the works commissioner, Ephraim Inyang denied the allegation that government intends to covert the land for Governor Udom’s visitor’s car park, describing it is a “falsehood.”
Mr Inyang said that houses demolished were mud houses strewn along pathway of the ongoing road construction in Awa, Onna local government area of the state.
“It is not true that the governor want to use the building for car park, the demolished buildings were on the road path of the ongoing road construction in the area,’’ Inyang said.
The Commissioner said that the state government paid N1.8 million for the family of the victims but they rejected the money insisting that the Governor should build houses for the family.
He noted that similar thatched houses on the same streets collected N1.8 million, theirs should not be different.
“All the houses on the streets collected N1.8 million, why should theirs be different, Gov. Emmanuel is not Governor of Awa but Governor of Akwa Ibom.
“The people rejected the cheque and deposited it with the village head and the amount is what we paid to similar buildings that were affected,’’ Inyang said.
Propellerng.com
The affected houses, it was also gathered, belonged to Mr Akpan Ebong, Mr Udo Ebong and Madam Inokon in the area.
