Abuja – January 19, 2024 – Viewpoint Housing News.
Anambra State residents are growing increasingly alarmed over the devastation and burning of shanties, goods, and merchants’ possessions between the Regina Ceali Junction and Y-Junction of Okpuno in the state’s Awka South Local Government Area.
Beginning on Tuesday, the Awka Capital Territory Development Authority’s administration, under the direction of its chairman, Ossy Onuko, collaborated with the agency’s Rapid Response Unit and Development Control Unit to carry out the destruction.
Additionally, vendors at UNIZIK Tempsite, Oby Okoli Avenue, Okpuno, Abakiliki Street, and Club Road in Awka were impacted by the demolition.
It was discovered that the demolition started after the dealers received many warnings and notifications to cease operations.
It was learned that, in addition to the shanties being destroyed, the authorities who conducted the exercise in the presence of security forces also set fire to the traders’ possessions, which included food items and handicrafts.
In an interview with media, Charles Ekwunife, the head of the ACTDA Development Control Unit, said that the devastation of the environment was largely caused by shanties and other unlawful constructions as well as unauthorrised commercial activities.
Speaking on behalf of Onuko, the Managing Director of the Awka Capital Development Authority, Ekwunife stated that the complete demolition demonstrated how serious the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo was, about restoring peace and order in the state.
He insisted that the agency would not condone any form of illegality across its jurisdiction. He advised traders to desist from setting up illegal structures and trading along the streets, as according to him, the government would leave no stone unturned to rid Awka of illegal structures and shanties.
He said, “Those shanties put up on the roads deface Awka. Take your goods to the market and sell them. These are roads and streets not meant for trading and Awka Capital Territory is one of them.
Building a tranquil, livable, and successful state is one of the main goals of the Soludo government. As a result, the hawkers and road vendors who have defaced the state capital will not be allowed to continue their illegal activities.
This is one aspect of the attempts by management to bring Awka Capital City back to order and its status as a capital territory. The ACTDA is working tirelessly to eradicate impunity from the system and establish order and the rule of law. To prevent regrets, petty traders are encouraged to abide with the authority’s demands and expectations.
The member representing Awka North and South Federal Constituency, Prof. Oby Orogbu, condemned the demolition.
In a statement she signed by herself, Orogbu described the act as “barbaric”, adding that she was utterly dismayed and disappointed by the “brutality against petty traders”.
“As a federal representative, I must defend the interests and welfare of my constituents, who are among the victims of this injustice. I condemn this act in the strongest terms and demand that the state government and the ACTDA immediately stop this harassment and intimidation of the traders. I also call for the compensation and rehabilitation of the affected traders, and the prosecution of those responsible for this atrocity.”