Ngige Administration acquired 726 hectares of farmland from Ivite Umueri, for the purpose of building a cargo airport.
Peter Obi obtained Approval from Federal Government to build a cargo Airport , after successful test of soil samples have been carried out on the original 726 hectares.
Willie Obiano flagged off the Airport project by promising to construct three major road highways to the cargo Airport –
1.First Road – from Community Secondary School Umuatuolu Umueri to the Airport which he mischievously named Aguleri-Otuocha-Umueri Cargo Airport Road.
- Second Road@ from Nteje axis to the cargo Airport
- Third Road – from Onitsha route connecting through Nneyi Umueri to the cargo Airport .
Willie Obiano paid an “Almajiri babilala” kind of compensation on the original 726 hectares and abandoned it thereafter to annex connecting land (totaling 1180 hectares )from the first road as stated above.
The 1180 hectares comprises mainly residential homes and remaining farmland of Ivite Umueri Community is now marked the new Airport project.
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The Governor has abandoned the 726 hectares of which soil sample test was conducted and compensation paid and started building on 1180 hectares that no soil test was conducted and no compensation paid!
Who built airport close to human habitats and without proper ecological examination?
The news making round is that Willie Obiano and his cronies and family have shared the original 726 hectares amongst themselves, that was originally mapped out for the project, for private estates and private businesses while building airports on land that he woefully fails to duly conduct a soil test.
The two roads connecting the Airport from Umueri to the Airport (Umuatuolu and Nneyi axis) were abruptly shut down, following the usual misunderstanding between Umueri and Willie village of Aguleri, . By this action, Umueri would need to go to the airport thata domiciled in their labd through Nteje making Umueri a dumping ground for the project as all direct developments will take place in Nteje alone.
The Prayers of Umueri is that the land that was forcefully taken away from them without due legal and Conventional means of land acquisition , be returned back. This land comprised over 1000 hectare and roads constructed from the town to the airport. So far the government has accepted to return a mere 288 hectares from the stolen land.
This to me is not enough. The protest continues.
Note that Enugu, Asaba and Owerri airports are domiciled on lesser than 1000 hectares of land.
Please join the struggle as injury to one , should be an injury to all. Ometu ta onu, ometu imi.
By Comrade Biafra Buchi Diboh
