Mr Osita Obi, a human rights campaigner, had his freshly built house demolished by the Anambra State Government.
The duplex, which was built in Awka’s Executive Business District near the abandoned government residence, was demolished on Wednesday.
Obi, who raised the alert about the damage, expressed his disappointment because he was not even informed of the planned destruction so he could remove some important goods from the residence.
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He told journalists: “My pain is not that the house was demolished, after all, government once told us that the area had been acquired by it and that the houses built there will be demolished.
“My pain is that when they wanted to demolish it, they didn’t as little as notify us so that we can remove some useful items in the house. My wife has been in tears since after the demolition. She has been crying ceaselessly.
“I have heard that government has said it will pay us compensation as it was captured in the 2023 Appropriation Bill, but if they notified us, it would have helped us bear the shock of the demolition.
“That house was built by my wife, even one Kobo of mine did not go into it. My wife is a retiree from a federal government agency, and she used her life saving and retirement fund to buy the land and also construct the building. The land was very legally acquired, and even my building plan was approved by government.
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“Now they are telling me they will pay compensation, do they want to kill my wife so that I will use the money they will pay me to bury her?” he asked rhetorically.
However, it has been learned that the Awka Capital Territory Development Agency has contacted the activist and assured him that he will be compensated for the demolished property.
Comrade Osita Obi, coordinator of the Anambra Keke and Shuttle Drivers Union, has been at the forefront of championing the cause of tricycle riders in the state, including engaging government to reduce taxes paid by operators.
He was previously the organizer of the Movement for the Conduct of Local Government Elections in Anambra State, and he called the Peter Obi and Willie Obiano administrations to account for the state’s failure to hold local government elections.
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