Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has disclosed that his administration has paid compensation to over 4,000 out of nearly 10,000 landowners affected by the Nsulu Airport project.
Otti made this known on Friday at the Government House, Umuahia, during the February edition of “Governor Alex Otti Speaks to Abians,” his monthly media chat.
The governor explained that the current phase of compensation covers landowners whose properties fall within the proposed runway corridor, noting that the process is being handled systematically.
“I am sure some of you may have seen that there were negative reports from someone who I even understand had not attended any of the meetings. So I think it was just a hatchet job done by an individual,” Otti said.
He added, “Compensation payments have resumed on the 23rd of this month, after the meeting on the 18th of this month.
“I understand there are close to 10,000 claimants, and at the moment over 4,000 have been paid.
“So we are taking them step by step. We first of all took the people we acquired the proposed runway, which is what is going on now. The construction of the runway is going on very well. So we first of all settled them, and we are now taking them village by village.”
Governor Otti further stated that the government had published the names of claimants in their respective communities in the spirit of transparency.
“In the spirit of transparency, we had made the Honourable Commissioner for Lands publish the names of claimants to the communities. So there’s nothing that is hidden,” he said.
While acknowledging the possibility of irregularities, he assured that the government was prepared to address any sharp practices.
“Of course, we are not ruling out sharp practices, but we are also very, very ready to deal with anyone that we see.
“But I can assure you that everyone who should be compensated will be compensated. A lot of them have been compensated. The rest of them will be compensated,” Otti assured.
The governor also announced that the state’s electric bus scheme, the Green Shuttles, will commence subsidised operations on March 1.
He said the buses would charge a token fare of ₦800 from Umuahia to Aba and ₦1,000 from Umuahia to Ohafia.
“It is going to be cheap. You need to be organised in such a way that cash will not be accepted. So you have to pay with a card.
“We need to just begin to move up the ladder. Digital transformation is where the world has gone. We can’t be different,” he said.
Otti added that the Umuahia Central Bus Terminal would serve as the operational base for the buses in Umuahia, while Aba would also have its designated bus terminal.
The PUNCH