March 17, (THEWILL) – The Ebonyi State Government has commenced the profiling of its indigenes affected by the recent demolition exercise in Ilaje Otumara and Baba Ijora communities of Lagos Mainland, assuring them of necessary support.
Commissioner for Special Duties and State Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Valentine Okike, disclosed this in an interview in Abakaliki, emphasizing that Governor Francis Nwifuru remains committed to ensuring that Ebonyi citizens do not suffer.
The demolition, carried out by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), left thousands of residents homeless, including over 1,200 Ebonyians who were forcefully evicted from their homes.
Okike noted that upon receiving official notification of the incident, Governor Nwifuru immediately ordered their evacuation back to Ebonyi.
“It was an eyesore seeing children as young as three or four years living under the bridge in an open space. The governor made resources available, and I personally traveled to Lagos to bring them back,”he stated.
The commissioner further explained that while many of the displaced persons have returned home, some opted to remain in Lagos.
“For those who wanted to come back, we have successfully brought them home. However, some chose to stay back, and as adults, we cannot force them,”he said.
He also revealed that the government is carefully profiling returnees to ensure that assistance reaches only genuine victims of the demolition.
“We are still compiling data to verify that those who returned are Ebonyians. While over 1,200 individuals were affected, after thorough scrutiny, the final number of beneficiaries may be around 800,”Okike added.
The commissioner commended the Ebonyi State Government for being proactive, stating that despite people from other states being affected, only Ebonyi took immediate steps to evacuate its citizens.
“Governor Nwifuru is a leader who believes in good governance, and his commitment to the welfare and security of his people is unwavering. The Constitution mandates that government must protect its citizens, and this administration will not abandon its people in distress,”he said.
Okike assured that the government would take further steps to assist the victims but noted that the final decision rests with the governor.
“The governor will not bring them back to suffer. We are profiling them to ensure only genuine victims receive support. Some opportunists tried to take advantage of the situation, bringing their belongings from different locations not affected by the demolition. But only those who genuinely lost their homes and businesses will be captured in this exercise,” he explained.
The commissioner promised that once the profiling is complete, the government would roll out necessary interventions to support the affected citizens.
Sunday Ogbu is a professional journalist with eight - twelve years experience that had worked with various print and online media. Sunday specializes in news reporting with the aim of educating his readers on current social, political and economic occurences within his area of coverage. Sunday is a strong force to work with in the media industry and uses his positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. Sunday is inspired daily by his wife and their four children. In his free time, Sunday likes sight-seeing, reading and discussing issues of societal interest.
