Irate community youths have teamed up with shop owners and traders whose shops were destroyed in the on-going demolition of illegal structures on Minna roads by Niger State Urban Development, NSUDB, on Tuesday to launch an attack house of the state’s deputy governor, Alhaji Ahmed Ketso.
Speaking to newsmen, one of the traders whose shop was demolished said they were angry because the government didn’t give them a prior notification before wrecking down their shops.
Ahmed alleged that the NSUDB officials only asked him to move out of his shop, then they began demolition of his shop without even allowing him to take out his cash, goods, and other valuables.
“I was just sitting in my shop, and they said come out; their bulldozer was already stationed in front of my shop, and immediately they removed me forcefully, their bulldozer brought down my entire shop without allowing me to pick my cash, goods, and other valuables.
“I feel like dying as the board has taken me back to zero levels; I am left with nothing right now,” he lamented.
Another affected trader, Moses Dunia, said the state government preserved the deputy governor’s house that is also built on the road, making life hard for the common man.
When the Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor, Hajiya Maimuna Kolo, was contacted, she opines that the youths were angry because the NSUDB destroyed illegal structures in the area.
“They (youths) decided to vent their anger on the private residence of the deputy governor.
“The deputy governor was just a victim of circumstance in this case,” Kolo said.
But, the Acting General Manager, Niger State Development Board (NSUDB), Mr. Muhammed Bawa, while reacting to the news, said the exercise, which began from the state’s capital, would still get to other urban cities in the state.
He further said the demolition of the illegal structures was tantamount to the board pathing the Right Way of passage for ease of movement.
“The development control is a routine activity which we started last week, it is an ongoing thing, and it will continue until all illegal structures are removed.
“From Minna, the state capital, we are planning to move to Suleja and other urban centers in the state,” he said.
According to the law, Bawa argues that the occupants of the illegal structures need no prior notice.
He said, “if you are occupying an illegal piece of land that is not yours and you don’t have any right, as far as government is a concern, it would be removed’’.
“We were magnanimous enough to have written to them, but the COVID-19 pandemic did not allow us to take action until now.’’