Demolition: Taraba Commissioner Refutes alleged lack of notices
OKERAFOR ATHANATIUS, JALINGO
The Taraba State Commissioner, Ministry of Rural and Urban Development, Hon. Peter Julius Vau has refuted allegations of demolishing shops and business centres belonging to residents of the State without sending notices to them.
Hon Peter Julius Vau
Hon. Julius Vau, who debunked the allegations while reacting to questions from Journalists in Jalingo said the ministry under his watch was exercising its functions.
Expressing dismay that Jalingo the State capital is full of illegal structures and illegal motor parks, Hon. Julius said the scenario has had a negative affect on the master plan of the metropolis.
“Market men and women abandon government designated markets, enter the middle of the road with their products, thereby blocking the roads and causing obstructions to traffic flow, Jalingo main market is a typical example”,
Staff of the Ministry seen demolishing illegal structures in Jalingo
“Transport workers also do the same thing by abandoning government’s main motor parks and, all these are causing great nuisance in the metropolis”,
“As a Ministry of Rural and Urban Development, whose core mandate is to ensure that the right things are done, we must not fold our hands and allow things continue to deteriorate”,
“There are a lot of illegal structures every where in Jalingo metropolis and so, this Ministry is just going out to dismantle and demolish them”, he said.
The Commissioner further explained that before the demolition exercise commenced, “Quick notices” were sent out to those that were concerned.
“We had meetings with critical Stakeholders like the leadership of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Association of Traders, among others”,
“We warned and advised them not to distort the master plan of the city in the name of trying to earn a living”,
“They knew that they were not supposed to be there because it’s illegal and because it’s illegal and not according government Master Plan, the structures must be demolished”, he added.
Calling on the good people of the State to continue to support Governor Agbu Kefas to succeed, the Commissioner advised those affected to go to government designated markets and motor parks.
He added that the present administration under the leadership of Dr. Agbu Kefas is a people concerned government, which has the plights of the people at heart.
Our Correspondent reports that recently the officials of the state Ministry of Rural and Urban Development were seen demolishing structures in Jalingo the State capital.
One among the scenes, ‘State Secretariat junction’, the affected business owners were lamenting over the actions of the officials from the Ministry saying, “they were not concerned over their sufferings”,
“We help ourselves this time of hardship, feed our family members through these little sales of products we do here and they want to stop us”,
“No notice was given to us, they came with their vehicles and started destroying our things”.
Speaking in an interview shortly, Deputy Director, Ministry of Rural and Urban Development, Town planner Nahum Ishaku said the officials from the ministry were mandated to dismantle and demolish structures erected illegally across the State especially Jalingo the State capital.
Nahum Ishaku
“Traders erect structures illegally and when making their sales, they block the views of motorists and other road users which some times, cause accidents”,
“Look at a Bus-stop here with a shop erected in front of it, making the bus-stop irrelevant”,
“The roads were prepared for motorists and other road users but market men and women came, choke up the road with their products, blocked the drainages where water was supposed to pass freely”,
“Several notices have been served to the traders to vacate the areas they illegally occupied across Jalingo metropolis but they remained adamant to the notices”,
“We are not depriving them from their sales or businesses, but let them help themselves and state government to avoid accidents”, he added.
