Bayelsa Government on Tuesday said that there was no going back on the ongoing demolition of illegal structures in pursuit of its urban renewal project.
It would be recalled that the Bayelsa COVID-19
Task Force chaired by Gov. Douye Diri had in the past weeks demolished
illegal structures at Swali and Etegwe areas of Yenagoa, Bayelsa capital.
Mr Freston Akpor, the Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Information in a statement in Yenagoa, urged residents to disregard
speculations that the task force would be influenced to back down.
Akpor, who is also a member of the COVID-19
Task Force in Bayelsa, said that a fraudulent syndicate was obtaining
money from unsuspecting traders and landlords , while promising them that they
would facilitate de- alisting of their property from those slated for
demolition.
“Landlords and traders in Yenagoa, have been
cautioned to be mindful of fraudsters promising to protect their illegal
structures from removal by security sub-committee of the task force on
COVID-19.
“The warning is coming against the backdrop of
reports of persons claiming they can influence members of the task force
against the removal of their illegal structures marked for demolition.
“Some unsuspecting members of the public, who
have already fallen prey to the fraudsters, were allegedly told to pay some
amount of money to protect their structures that were eventually removed.
“The fraudsters are apparently taking
advantage of the exercise at Swali market, Etegwe and Edepie illegal markets by
Tombia Roundabout to defraud gullible landlords and traders.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the task force is
not under the influence of any person or group of persons and it takes
directives from only the executive governor of the state or his
representatives.
“Owners of illegal structures identified for
removal will not only be given prior notice but has been asked to remove
them before the commencement of any action.
“The task force has not and do not have any
reason to engage the services of person(s) to collect money from anyone on its
behalf thus wants concerned members of the public to report suspected
fraudsters to the Police for arrest and subsequent prosecution,” Akpor said.
The government advised landlords and shop
owners of illegal structures and unapproved extensions on buildings,
particularly on major roads in the state capital to remove such structures to
avoid forceful demolition by the task force soon.
Also, traders at Igbogene, Okaka and Opolo
markets as well as Opolo roundabout are advised to remove all their illegal
structures immediately as the task force would soon move in to remove
such structures as part of the urban renewal plans by government.
No comments:
Post a Comment