In spite of public outcry against the ongoing demolition of structures on alleged government land in Kaduna State, governor El-Rufai is set to render about 3,500 families of Gbagyi Villa community in Chikun local government area homeless.
The Gbagyi Villa community has petition President Muhammadu Buhari to impress it on the government of Kaduna State to see the need for a change of heart and not to go ahead with the demolition exercise.
Addressing newsmen in Kaduna, Thursday, after embarking on a peaceful assembly, the chairman, Gbagyi Villa community, Mr Chris Obodumu, said the parcel of land in question had been a source of dispute between the native Gbagyi people and Kaduna Polytechnic, stressing that the ancestral owners were not duly paid to enable the transfer of ownership from Gbagyi people to Kaduna Polytechnic.
“The late Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, after due process through the court inaugurated a White Paper committee in May 2011, which looked into the matter and amicably demarcated the boundary between the two parties. The Polytechnic accepted the resolution of the dispute and, thereafter, proceeded to erect a concrete wall fence demarcating its land from that of the community.
“From the foregoing, it is clear to us that the Polytechnic is not laying claim to Gbagyi Villa and has no pending case against us. For the Kaduna State Government to claim that our community, after all these years of existence, sits on Polytechnic land is incomprehensible to us.
“The allegation by Kaduna State Urban Planing and Development Authority, (KASUPDA) of non possession of planning permits is false. KASUPDA knows this. It is just a veil to deceive the public and to obscure the true motive of government.
“We wish to reiterate that Gbagyi Villa came into existence through a legitimate, lawful process; it has no dispute with any of its neighbours, nor any institution laying claim to the land on which it is situated,” the chairman explained.
He said, “Gbagyi Villa has been marked for demolition for reasons that cannot be justified. The position of the Nasiru El-Rufai’S government on this issue scorns at the amicable resolution of the dispute with the consent of a court of law.
“It denounces the boundary demarcation by the state Surveyor General and accepted by the Polytechnic in writing and through the construction of a concrete fence. It repudiates the White Paper released by the state government on the matter.”
The community urged the state government to set up a committee to carry out investigation on all the planning permissions issued by the agency to residents of the community to ascertain the stand that the agency had approved some building plans for developers.
Dr. Dogara Bijimi, the owner of Habek International School and Mr. Joshua J. Nyam both showed letters from Kaduna State Urban Planing and Development Authority through Ref. No.PS/14/ZIII/16,090/VOL.I/018 and PS/14/PP/ZIII/15,727/VOL.I, granting them planning permissions.
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