SaharaReporters gathered that the only house the septuagenarian was able to build in his community, Nchatancha Nike in Enugu East local government area of the state with combined savings of his wife, was among several houses the Governor Mbah administration marked for demolition to give way to build a private Estate tagged "New Enugu City".
The administration of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has served an eviction notice to a visually impaired septuagenarian, who retired from State Civil Service 11 years ago without gratuity payment.
SaharaReporters gathered that the only house the septuagenarian was able to build in his community, Nchatancha Nike in Enugu East local government area of the state with combined savings of his wife, was among several houses the Governor Mbah administration marked for demolition to give way to build a private Estate tagged "New Enugu City".
Lamenting in a video seen by SaharaReporters on Thursday, the visually impaired septuagenarian decried that the state government has neither given him a house nor paid him his housing contributions deducted from his salary for the 35 years he worked for the government.
The elderly man, who said he has no place to go to, said their experience under Governor Mbah’s government was shocking and confusing, describing the eviction notice as "absurd".
He narrated: "I retired for the past 11 years from Enugu State Civil Service and I have not been paid my gratuity. Now, I managed with the little savings of my family to build this small house in my community.
“I don't have any other place to go other than this house. I am now visually impaired yet the government is asking us to leave my ancestry house within seven days. To go to where?
"I am begging the government to leave my house because the same government deducted from my salary housing contributions yet they didn't give us a house. Now I have laboured and built a house, but the same government has come and marked the house for demolition because it wants to build a private estate for the rich.
"I am begging that nobody should demolish my house because they didn't even give me a house when I was working for 35 years. It is despicable that a government that cannot provide shelter for its citizens will be going around demolishing the houses of its citizens.
"The worst issue is that at this time the country is facing the worst form of famine and high cost of living, coupled with the activities of the Fulani herdsmen, the government is busy destroying hectares of cassava farms in our community. This is invariably telling Nchatancha people to go and die."
He decried that a bowl of garri was being sold in his community for N1,900 as a result of the destruction of their crops. He said the situation was pushing people into deprivation and frustration.
He said, "A government that the plight of her citizens at this point in Nigeria is not disturbing is a tyrant," he said. "I worked until now I cannot see, where can I go from here? There is no house provided for me and my family anywhere."
Meanwhile, the state government has defended the demolition exercise and issuance of eviction notices.
A statement issued by the media office of the governor on Monday said no resident of Nchatancha Nike was forcefully evicted. It added that Nchatancha is one of the many communities affected by the ongoing construction of New Enugu City, a smart city flagged off by Governor Mbah in October.
It blamed the protests and disturbances on what it tagged as "land-grabbers" in the community, who sell portions of the already acquired and gazetted lands to unsuspected buyers.
The government said that some protesters had already been arrested and were in the custody of security agencies.
It said that although affected communities were already served a notice years ago when the land acquisitions began by previous governments, the Mbah administration was approaching the mega project with a human face by ensuring that compensations and proper relocations were done before any demolition.