By; BALA B. BITRUS, Minna
Small shops and Kiosks owners at high brow residential areas of London Street, the semi urban Maitumbi area and the areas adjacent to the Minna Ultra modern market in Minna, the state capital have cried out against plans by the state Urban Development Board to roll out it’s Bulldozers to demolish their sources of daily livelihood.
The state government via the Urban Development Board had last week sent out notices of demolition to owners of makeshift shops, Kioks and attachments to buildings used as shops to close them up and pack out or risk the blades and gavels of earthmovers on such illegal structures.
The Urban Development Board said such structures were illegal and recklessly erected in utter disregard to environmental rules.
It said some of the structures were raised on drainages, erected under electricity high tension cables, erected on roads reserves and on demarcations without obtaining permission from the board.
But angry affected owners, described the planned demolition as government’s insensitivity and recklessness.
The residents at London Street lamented that government was embarking on an unpopular exercise that would bring greater pains, penury and disempowerment to an already pauperised population, no thanks to the bad economy of the state.
Hajiya Fatima, one of the affected shop owners at London Street which is attached to her house, warned the government against invoking the wrath of God by denigrating the poor and stiffling his source of income.
Similarly, Alh. Lawal Maikanti, a local businessman and owner of Kioks and shops along the main road adjacent to the Minna Central market, said government and the state Urban Development Board were not being sincere nor reasonable.
Alh. Maikanti said some officials of the state Urban Development Board were dishonest and criminally minded. He said the board had earlier approved of such shops and Kioks and had even collected monies from the owners of such shops, Kioks and attachments.
Beside this, Maikanti said owners of such shops, Kioks and attachments pay revenue to both the local government and revenue department monthly even as he wondered why such places of business could be described as illegal.
He vowed to resist attempts to seize or demolish his place and source of income saying governments should be sensitive and reasonable in it’s governance.
But the General Manager, Niger State Urban Development Board, Hajiya Habiba Lani Ahmed said the board had served owners of such illegal structures with notices of demolition and that they were expected to move their structures away or risk demolition.
Lami Ahmed said government will not fold its arms and allow defacement in urban centres in the name of allowing empowerment.
She said such structures were defacing the aesthetics of the residential areas and rubbishing the urban planning structure of the state capital.
She said the move was to ensure proper town planning and beautification.
