Awka-Etiti, Nnobi Protest Planned Demolition To Pave Way For High-tension Transmission Lines
The natives of Nnobi and Awka Etiti in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra have protested against planned demolition of their homes and destruction of livelihood to make way for power transmission lines.
The communities are called on the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to adhere to the original pathway created for power lines which is supposed to transmit power from Obosi to the industrial town of Nnewi.
They called the Anambra government to rescind its 14-day demolition notices on the communities to make way for the transmission line.
Chief JoeMartin Uzodike, an Elder Statesman and community leader who spoke journalists in Awka Etiti said TCN should follow the path created for the project about 15 years instead of the new attempt to displace people from the ancestral homes as well as to destroy their livelihood because they wanted to cut corners.
Uzodike, a lawyer and former commissioner for Information and Culture in Anambra said the company should pay the resultant compensation to people whose property and livelihood would be affected by the project along the Obosi-Nnewi route as proposed and not to destroy communities that had nothing to do with the project.
He cautioned the Anambra government through the ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development against allowing itself to be used an a tool of destruction and displacement because the project belonged to the federal government.
He said under the Land Use Act, individuals who inherited and lived on their ancestral lands held permanent rights that could not be revoked without adequate compensation, alternative housing arrangements, and formal government negotiation.
“The high-tension power line was originally mapped out over 15 years to connect a high-voltage line from Obosi to Nnewi to support Nnewi’s growing industrial city but after initial plans encountered opposition due to the potential destruction of property in Nnewi, the route was abandoned.
“Now, they want to re-route and divert the high-tension lines through Nnobi and Awka-Etiti because they think these communities lack political leverage and capacity to resist.
“TCN as a federal government corporate entity did not properly consult, write official letters, or enter into any formal agreement with the affected communities before proceeding with markings and planned demolitions.
“The involvement of the Anambra State Physical Planning Board, in a matter involving a federal entity without structured community engagement is improper
“The high-tension line that they are trying to use to upset our natural habitat passing will not even supply power to the local residents whose property have been marked for destruction without compensation.
“We are calling on both the Federal and Anambra authorities under Gov. Chales Soludo intervened by directing that the actions be halted and ordering for a transparent, fair resolution in order to protect the rights of the community members to life and livelihood,” he said.
