Landowners in Nsulu Village of Isialangwa local government area of Abia State have pledged to allow construction work to continue at the proposed Abia Airport runway without anybody among them attempting to disrupt the ongoing work at the cite.
The Landowners made the pledge following a protest by some villagers over complaints of not receiving compensation from government for the acquired land.
The airport project, a joint venture between the federal government and the Abia state government, is cited in Nsulu Village with over 1000 hectares of farm land acquired from the people.
While the Abia state government insists that compensations have been paid to Landowners, some of the villagers who claim they have not received any payment therefore staged a peaceful protest which
prompted government officials to embark on a fact finding visit to the village.
The chief of staff to the governor, Caleb Ajagba, who led the delegation explained that provision was made to compensate every land owner affected by the airport project and therefore appeal to those who are yet to receive payment to be calm.
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The villagers blame the face off between them and the state government on the inability of their traditional ruler to effectively communicate government’s efforts to them which resulted in misconceptions.
According to the Abia State commissioner for lands and housing, Chaka Chukwumerije, over 3,500 Landowners have been paid compensation so far.
(Editor: Ena Agbanoma)
