The Ebonyi State Government has carried out the demolition of shops and residential buildings in the Ogoja Road area of the Abakiliki metropolis to pave the way for the construction of a flyover to ease the perennial traffic at the ever-busy Vanco junction.
When DAILY POST visited the affected areas on Thursday afternoon, demolition work was still ongoing on both sides of the road.
The development, however, has evoked lamentations from affected traders and landlords.
Some of the affected traders in the area who spoke to DAILY POST stated that no notice was given to them before the demolition started.
Okechukwu Orji and Madam Alice Nworie, two of the affected traders, lamented that the sudden demolition of their shops without any valid notice to that effect, left them stranded, as they had no place to store their goods. They further averred that no compensation was given to them by the government.
When contacted, the Ebonyi State Commissioner for Works, Stanley Lebechi Mbam, told DAlLY POST that the demolition was not a witch hunt against anybody but an effort to beautify and decongest the city.
He stated that those affected have been asked to compile their names and submit the required papers to the state government for necessary action.