The Peter Mbah-led administration in Enugu State has reportedly ordered the Guarantee Trust Bank Plc to vacate its state headquarters located long Ogui Road beside Our Saviour Institute of Science, Agriculture and Technology (OSISATECH), Polytechnic, Enugu within 24 hours for demolition without prior notice.
A top official of the Bank, who disclosed this to SaharaReporters on Monday evening, said that the state government brought bulldozers to demolish the bank on Monday without prior notice either from the Nigeria Railway Property, who is their landlord or the Enugu State government.
“We were surprised that while we were carried banking transactions on Monday afternoon, some officials of the state government rolled earth moving equipment to the property for demolition. The property was leased to the Bank by the Railway Property, a subsidiary of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) for 25 years of renewable lease.
“Bank is not built in a day, and you don’t just wake up, see a site and start building a bank. There is a process which also involved the clearance from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). No fewer than 40 workers of the bank branch including security personnel will be displaced. And this is being without due regards to legal procedure.”
Lamenting, the staff said that they had no secured place to locate the bank sensitive documents, computers and other electronic gadgets.
Meanwhile, the state government has demolished Our Saviour Institute of Science, Agriculture and Technology (OSISATECH) College of Education and Oha Micro-Finance Bank, ECOBANK Ogbete Main Market Branch, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Ogbete Main Market Branch.
Governor Peter Mbah’s administration is demolishing properties located in a 30,000 Square Meters or 30 hectares for the proposed Enugu Central Station.
Although several occupants had since gone to court with some gotten judgement against the State Government, Mbah administration has claimed that the state had a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Railway Property management who leased the property to the occupants.
The administration also claimed that the government had paid compensation to the Railway Property and some occupants but those who spoke to SaharaReporters said no single person was paid compensation.
Mbah’s administration had claimed in a week long media campaigns prior to the demolition which began on Saturday, that it had successfully relocated the occupants of the properties within the 30 hectares of land, including various businesses and banks, after compensations were duly paid to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), owners of the land to give way for the modern transport interchange or bus station at the place.
Apart from the Holy Ghost Terminal, the bus stations the governor said are to be built in three other locations in the state namely: Gariki, Abakpa and Nsukka.
SaharaReporters, which visited the scene on Monday, reports that the scavengers were seen in their hundreds scrambling for metals and other valuables.
Scavengers were seen happily scooping metallic items and plastics from the debris of the demolished buildings whose owners have relocated from the Holy Ghost by Market Road, Enugu.
The state commissioner for transportation, Dr. Obi Ozor, had while briefing reporters on the project, said that the proposed site for the Enugu Central Station, is a dual terminal that will focus on inter-state transportation for terminal 1, and intra-city transportation for terminal 2.
He added that the the project would be delivered in 12 months once it starts, adding that the government had already relocated the occupants of the place and paid compensations that enabled it commence demolitions.
According to him, the essence of the terminals was to give the state a face-lift, create employment opportunities and reduce crime.
“The land here is owned by the Nigerian Railway Corporation and leased to 29 key legal tenants to the NRC on an average of 10 to 25 years leases.
“Enugu State government has reached an agreement with the NRC and the Federal Ministry of Transportation to lease this place for the construction of the proposed terminal.
“The government has paid compensation to all legal occupants except a few others who are yet to send their details to the government”.
While disclosing that the project, which management will be driven by the private sector for its sustainability, would be completed in about 12 months, the commissioner noted that the government started the journey since September, 2023 by engaging all the stakeholders.
“Then, notices were given on 13th of October, 2023 and seven months after, the government has come in to clear the place for the commencement of the terminal.
“We hope that the work will commence this month. We have a total of four terminals one each in Enugu, Abakpa, Gariki and Nsukka while the phase two will involve places like 9th Mile.”
