PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria – In a move that has left several workers homeless, the Rivers State Government has on Saturday, May 13, 2023, begun the demolition of residential properties owned by the Bayelsa State Government located in the Old GRA, Port Harcourt.
The twin structures, which housed workers of the Bayelsa Liaison Office, were leveled after a 14-day eviction notice had expired.
The demolition team, accompanied by armed security operatives, arrived at the scene on Friday, May 12, 2023, barricading journalists from approaching or capturing images of the operation.
The structures, occupying Plots 34 & 35 (No 5 Akassa Street) and Plot 37 (No 9 Akassa Street) in the Golf Course Extension Layout, Port Harcourt, were targeted on claims that they constituted a nuisance and were out of alignment with the government’s urban renewal focus.
Among the evicted occupants was Pastor Isaac Board, who had vacated his home just the day before the demolition.
“I have no place to stay as I speak to you. I and my family slept in the corridor of a friend’s place last night. We are workers with the Bayelsa State, so let the government come to our aid by giving us a place to stay,” Board lamented.
Woseebimu Frank-Oputu, the Administrator Officer at the Bayelsa Liaison office in Port Harcourt, also shared his ordeal.
“It was my pastor that came with a truck to carry my property. I and my family are putting up in the church,” he said.
The unexpected evictions and demolition have highlighted the tense relationship between the Rivers and Bayelsa State Governments, and has left several families in dire straits.
There has been no official response yet from the Bayelsa State Government on the matter.
