Gombe residents protest over road project

Residents of Jekadafari area in Gombe metropolis have staged a protest to express their displeasure with a contractor handling a road project in the area.

They accused the contractor of alleged encroachment and destruction of their houses.

According to the residents, the contractor encroached into some of their houses while constructing the drainages on both sides of the road, a development that led to the collapse of some parts of the affected buildings

A resident of the area, Malam Muhammadu Badamai, said some of their houses have been badly damaged and were forced to leave them.

He said to make matters worse the contactor has refused to take responsibility for the damage and said he would not compensate them.

“He told us it was not their responsibility, but that of the state government.

“We staged this protest to rescue our houses and register our grievances over the damages in our respective homes by the contractor and their nonchalant attitude to our pleas over the weeks,” he said.

He said more than five houses were affected and neither the contractor nor the ministry has attended to them.

Another resident, Musa Sabo, said his house was not among the affected houses that government paid compensations on but was asked to vacate.

“They gave me just one hour to evacuate my belongings which is not fair to me.”

When contacted, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Engineer Sale Miyims, said it was normal for such minor misunderstanding to occur when a construction work is ongoing.

He appealed to the residents to exercise patience as the action was not deliberate.