Anambra begins demolition of shops and illegal structures in Nawfia, Abagana and Onitsha
Written on
Anambra State deployed bulldozers to Nawfia, Abagana and Onitsha from September 18, pulling down shops and buildings the government says were erected without approval, on sidewalks, access roads and former motor parks.
Anambra State has begun demolishing shops and other structures in parts of the state as the government intensifies its crackdown on illegal and unauthorised developments. Bulldozers and heavy-duty equipment were deployed simultaneously to communities in Nawfia, Abagana and Onitsha, where structures described by the authorities as illegal or unapproved were pulled down, according to The Guardian Nigeria.
The affected structures included shops and buildings erected on sidewalks, open public spaces, access roads and areas previously designated as motor parks. The exercise, which began on Friday, September 18, was carried out by officials of the Anambra State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, accompanied by security personnel.
The enforcement team stormed Afor Market in Nawfia and Oye Agu Market in Abagana, both in Njikoka Local Government Area, where several shops and other structures were demolished. The exercise was later extended to Odoakpu in Onitsha, following reports that a three-storey building had been constructed on an access road without the required setback. A structure intended to serve as a security house at Trans Nkisi Layout was also demolished after it allegedly obstructed access to residential buildings.
Ngozi Okwudili, Head of Development Control at the ministry, who led the enforcement team, said the demolitions followed due process and that the affected developers had been served repeated notices. She said one of the structures at Afor Market in Nawfia was demolished because its building plan did not make adequate provision for parking, while the plaza at Oye Agu Market in Abagana was constructed without the ministry's approval. "There is no space for parking of vehicles in the building plan. They are supposed to make provision for at least 45 per cent of the built-up area as parking space," she said.
For some of the affected traders, the demolitions came at a heavy financial cost. Nneka Chidumeme, who sells baby items at Oye Agu Market in Abagana, said she had only begun settling into her newly rented shop after paying for it on August 28, and had exhausted her savings and borrowed from friends, relatives and cooperative groups hoping to recoup the investment during the yuletide shopping season. Gloria Nwafor, a widowed trader who shared a shop at Afor Market in Nawfia with one of her daughters, said the business was the family's main means of support.
The government said the enforcement exercise will be sustained across the state to restore order and ensure compliance with physical planning laws, and urged prospective developers to obtain building plan approvals from district heads in the local government areas or the ministry's office before starting construction.