Edo govt to compensate owners of demolished Irhirhi-Obazagbon-Ogheghe property

Obaseki

Edo State Government has said that all genuine owners of the demolished property at the repossessed expanse of land at Irhirhi-Obazagbon-Ogheghe communities would be adequately compensated.

The state government added that it had the data of all owners, who had built their houses on the fringes of the Ogba River Reserves before the government acquired the land in 207 for the purpose of developing a new Benin City in the area.

Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Mr Chris Osa Nehikhare, who made the disclosure in Benin on Thursday during a press briefing, reiterated the resolve of the government to enforce the relating to the issue of encroachment on government land.

Nehikhare, who spoke on the demolition of some structures in their various stages of development at Irhirhi-Obazagbon-Ogheghe, added that of the total number of 106 marked on Thursday, only 24 would not be demolished.

He said that it took the state government almost five years, after the acquisition of the 1229 hectares of land in the locality in 2017, to move in because the land grabbers in the communities were recalcitrant.

“At every stage of development of the structures, the government warned and served notices to those concerned, warning them that the land belongs to the government. But they refused to go and collect their money from the land grabbers, who sold the land to them illegally.

“Government has the information and data of those who had property on the land before the acquisition. Of course, the entire Ogba River Forest Reserve belongs to the government and only those on the peripheries, which were acquired along the Reserve will be compensated”, Nehikhare assured.

The commissioner noted that the government was not unmindful of the public perception of its actions, pointing out that in the present circumstance, those affected knew that they were warned, adding that the government had instances, where those initially acquired parts of the land, had to go and collect their money back.

“The land was acquired in 2017 for the new town project but had been encroached upon by land speculators. The area repossessed used to be the Ogba Forest Reserve at the time of the acquisition.

The repossession exercise is part of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s renewed campaign against land-grabbing in the state, aimed at restoring sanity in land administration in the state”, Nehikhare reiterated.

According to him, “On the operation in the communities, government officials entered the area at about 3.00 am this morning with the full complement of security personnel. The area was repossessed with no casualty. The exercise is going on peacefully.

“The government has taken over all the buildings within the Ogba River Forest Reserve and is removing all buildings, except for those it may use as offices. We thank all security agencies, members of the affected communities, the general public and the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) involved with the exercise for their cooperation.

“For the records, the land acquired in July 2017 was duly gazetted. The government had tried severally to engage the four communities involved but they have always rebuffed the government. The hostilities and widespread encroachment have made it difficult to enumerate and commence compensation assessments.

“Once the repossession is completed, enumeration will commence and payment will be made to the rightful occupants who were there prior to the acquisitions.

“Total structures marked today are 106 and 24 will not be demolished. The others are being demolished and the perimeter of the site is being trenched”, he disclosed.

Meanwhile, the Edo State Government has said that the state-owned Ambrose Alli University, AAU, Ekpoma, is not on strike as academic activities and other administrative issues were ongoing at the university.

Chris Osa Nehikhare, Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, who spoke in Benin on Thursday disclosed that the state government had paid all staff of the University their salary up to August 2022, adding that if any member of staff of the institution claimed to be owed any salary, “that must be those who refused to resume work after the intervention panel made its recommendations to the government”.

“It should be noted that most state universities are not part of the ASUU (Academic Staff Union of Universities) strike and AAU Ekpoma is one of the state universities that did not join the strike”, Nehikhare emphasised.

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