By: Emmanuel Nlewedum
Over three thousand persons were Wednesday, rendered homeless by the Rivers State government following the on -going demolition of illegal structures in the Eagle Island axis of Port Harcourt.
Commissioner for Urban Development and Physical Planning in the state, Chinyere Igwe and the lawmaker representing Port Harcourt Constituency 3 (Eagle Island inclusive), Victor Ihunwo led a team of tax force known as Urban Guard and bulldozers to the area in the early hours of Wednesday and forcefully evicted the residents.
According to the state government, the action is aimed at restoring the original master plan of the area.
The exercise started on Monday after the state governor, Nyesom Wike and the state commissioner of police, Foluso Adebanjo and the Mayor of Port Harcourt, Sunny Ejekwu had on Saturday led security agencies to the area to demolish hide outs of some criminals.
But the exercise has gone beyond that as they are now moving from yard to yard demolishing structures including churches.
Phspectator reports that houses that the bulldozers cannot reach were set ablaze by the government officials.
Meanwhile, some of the affected residents numbering over five hundred including women, men, boys, girls and children protested the action of the government, describing it as an act of insensitivity to the plight of the people especially at this time when the economy is biting hard.
One of the protesters who preferred anonymity told our reporter that there properties were destroyed without any prior notice, adding that they have been rendered homeless as they have no where to stay.
The protesters who regretted voting for Wike and Victor Ihunwo demanded for compensation from the government and called on the international community and other corporate bodies to come to their aid.
