By Kingston Princewill
The government of Cross River State has rejected allegation that it was witch-hunting political opponents with the recent move to demolish buildings within the Water Board premises in Calabar, saying the exercise is necessary to pave way for the rehabilitation of critical infrastructure and restore regular public water supply to Calabar and adjoining communities.
The demolition notice given to owners of buildings marked for demolition has continued to generate uproar for the past few days, especially as one of the buildings is said to belong to the PDP’s deputy governorship candidate, Alphonsus Eba, who is also the immediate past State Chairman of the APC.
Some of the owners of the affected property, especially those from the opposition political parties in the State, are alleging political vendetta.
However, in a chat with our reporter in Calabar, Gov Bassey Otu’s Special Adviser on General Duties, Barr Ekpenyong Akiba, said the planned demolition of structures at the Water Board is part of a World Bank project’s conditions and not targeted at any individual.
He said: “water projects are usually done with the support of the World Bank. The government has counterpart funds which are hanging for over two years for the rehabilitation purposes but nothing can be done without excavation of the old pipes.”
The Governor’s aide explained further that the Water Board facility was originally for water production, with large underground pipes running through the area and that several residential structures have now been erected on or around major water pipelines and facilities, making it impossible for engineers to carry out essential works.
Denying the claims of a witch-hunt, Akiba insisted that the demolition list cuts across political divides and includes properties owned by public servants, retirees and private citizens and that “the action is for overriding public interest to restore water supply in the state.”
He said: “Houses belonging to a commissioner, a special adviser, former permanent secretaries, retirees are also marked for demolition as well as other government structures and not limited to Barr Eba as portrayed by certain individuals
“It’s good these issues are coming to the public domain so people can say if we should continue to support irresponsibility and protect illegalities. There would be no demolition without adequate notice. Provisions exist for relocation where necessary.”
Investigations indicated that the Water Board area has long been central to Calabar’s water distribution network. Successive administrations had pledged to rehabilitate the ageing facilities to no avail even as some persons exploited the inaction of government to erect residential structures on the said land.
Recall that Gov Otu had, shortly after taking over, inaugurated a committee to review the work of the transition committee. Different sub-clusters such as Agriculture, Education, Health, Environment, Security, and Finance were established with civil society organizations and individuals brought on board.
A memo from the environment cluster to the chairman of the transition review committee had recommended a revocation of sale of Water Board land which was allegedly done by previous administrations in the State
The Environment Cluster memo, dated June 19, 2023, had opined that the land sold to mainly politicians was acquired from the community for overriding public interest and noted that there was no evidence of any official reassignment to individuals.
It questioned the development of unauthorized private homes on the Cross River State Water Board Limited property.
It had also argued that if any land acquisition had been done for purposes other than overriding public interest, it should have entailed the revocation of the original title and official publication in the government gazette.
Since there was no evidence of such reassignment, it submitted, every property on the said Water Board land should be considered as belonging to Water Board.
While some individuals who spoke to our reporter on the matter warned against demolition and described the development as sensitive especially with Governor seeking a second term in office early next year, many are urging him to take the bull by the horn and restore Calabar’s public water supply after years of redundancy.
