Kaduna pays N7bn compensation to 4,865 households displaced by road projects
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Governor Uba Sani says Kaduna has paid about N7 billion to households whose homes, businesses and utilities stood in the way of township roads, with a fresh N2 billion tranche for 865 households in Zaria, Giwa and Shika.
Kaduna State has paid about N7 billion in compensation to roughly 4,865 households whose homes, businesses and public utilities fell within the rights-of-way of road projects since Governor Uba Sani took office on 29 May 2023, the governor said at the weekend.
The latest tranche, approximately N2 billion for 865 households, was flagged off on Saturday at Waziri Lawal Primary School in Angwan Iya, Zaria city, for the reconstruction of 11 township roads within Zaria and Sabon Gari local government areas alongside the Giwa and Shika township roads.
Beneficiaries in this round include owners of affected structures along the Babban Dodo to Kofar Kuyan Bana and Rimin Tsiwa to Kofar Gayan corridors, as well as in Tudun Wada, Giwa Township and Shika township. Sani said homes, businesses and public utilities were identified within the designated rights-of-way as the projects progressed, and that the state chose to treat the human consequences of construction with the same seriousness as the engineering.
“Compensation fulfils an obligation owed to citizens whose property is required for public development,” the governor said. “Its purpose is to ensure that the benefits of improved infrastructure are not secured through avoidable hardship for those directly affected.” He added that “development must advance human dignity” and that infrastructure only gives physical expression to progress when it is delivered fairly.
Sani acknowledged that relocation involves “uncertainty, expense and the disruption of familiar surroundings” and thanked the affected households for engaging constructively. He also commended the surveyors, valuers, engineers and community representatives who supported the assessment process, and directed the relevant utility agencies to expedite the safe relocation of water, electricity and telecommunications infrastructure along the affected corridors.