Akwa Ibom property owners reject compensation offers for N117.5bn Ibom Medical City
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More than a dozen property owners in Ikono Local Government Area have rejected compensation approved by the Akwa Ibom State Government for land acquired for the N117.5 billion Ibom Medical City project, saying the amounts fall far short of what it would cost to rebuild.
On 6 August, Nduke Pius stood beside the ruin of her three-bedroom bungalow, about 500 metres from the construction site of the Ibom Medical City project in Itak, Ikono Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. She had returned from hospital two weeks after delivering her fourth child to learn that agents of the state government had pulled down the uncompleted building, despite her rejection of the compensation offered after the government acquired the land. Ms Pius said she spent more than N3 million raising the structure to lintel level, but was offered only N550,000.
PREMIUM TIMES found that more than a dozen property owners rejected the compensation offered by the state as far short of what they needed to rebuild. Sunday Okon, a mobile phone repairer with three children, borrowed N3 million and added his savings to roof a three-bedroom house, only to learn two months after moving in that the property had been marked for acquisition; the state offered N5.6 million while he believes at least N16 million is warranted. Anietie Effiong rejected N2.1 million for a three-bedroom bungalow he values at about N9 million, while Edet Etuk, whose four-bedroom bungalow had reached wall-plate level, said the state approved N1.4 million and that he had not received a response to his rejection letter. Idongesit Nnimmong said compensation for two plots for which she bought more than 2,000 blocks and other materials was fixed at N896,000, and Glory Ntokon said her plan to solve her housing problem ended when she was offered N1.5 million.
The gap between official offers and independent assessments runs through the documents reviewed by the newspaper. Christiana Ekpo was offered N540,000 for a three-bedroom bungalow built above damp-proof level, while a valuation report by Mathias Hope and Associates, prepared using the Depreciated Replacement Cost Method, put the property at N3.8 million and identified it as being acquired for the proposed Renal Kidney Centre within the Medical City. Estate valuer Udom Udim assessed Sunday Okon's property at N18.6 million and Friday Okon's at N20 million, against government approvals of N5.6 million and N8 million for a three-bedroom flat and an apartment, respectively. Mr Udim said the properties were undervalued relative to current building material costs, and that valuation reports submitted to the Ministry of Lands and Town Planning had not been reflected in the approved figures.
Governor Umo Eno unveiled the project in June with the groundbreaking for the Ibom International Hospital. Spread across 100 hectares, the medical city is designed as an integrated hub that the government expects will reduce medical tourism and create jobs. Project Manager Teinye Isokariari said it would comprise a 10-storey complex accommodating 62 medical specialties. A review of the state's 2026 budget shows N100 billion earmarked for the Ibom International Hospital, N10 billion for an Advanced Diagnostic Centre, N5 billion for a Mental Rehabilitation Centre and N2.5 billion for the Arise Renal Medical Centre/Dialysis Centre, together N117.5 billion, or more than six per cent of the state's N1.5 trillion budget.
None of the property owners interviewed opposed the project, describing it as a welcome development for healthcare in the state. The disagreement centres on how compensation was calculated. Commissioner for Lands and Town Planning Ubong Inyang declined to comment, initially referring the newspaper to the ministry's permanent secretary before directing it to the Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah. Mr Umanah said he did not have sufficient details of the affected properties and requested specific information, but had not responded to detailed questions sent by WhatsApp as of the time the report was filed.
The dispute also follows an earlier report in which Peter Lambert appealed to the governor to review the N3.7 million compensation offered for a property in Ekpemiong Itak in which he said he invested nearly N8 million. Across Ekpemiong Itak and Usuk Afaha Obio Ewang in Ikono Local Government Area, rejection letters and valuation reports reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES point to questions over the valuation standards applied to one of the state's largest planned public investments.