MIXED REACTIONS OVER THE DEMOLISHED YOUTH COUNCIL PLAZA AT KENYATTA MARKET

Reported by Hawk Daily News, Friday 5th 2022

Comrade Bartholomew Ebuka Okoh while addressing the youths of Enugu on Friday 5th August 2022 said:

“It is with a deep sense of responsibility that I write to address the Enugu youth populace on yesterday’s occurrence that got young persons across the state agitated. Since the incident, I have received several calls from different quarters demanding to know why The State Government would demolish the Youth Council plaza and also my stand on the issue. Some persons even were bold enough to accuse me of being complicit. According to them, I have compromised my mandate to grant consent to the demolition without properly consulting all the youth bodies that make up the National Youth Council of Nigeria. I want you all to know that my office was never notified of the demolition ,I got to know about the demolition by a concerned citizen by 9am yesterday, while the demolition was ongoing.I’m aware that even the social media space have been littered with some of these allegations. I write this to reassure of my commitment to my mandate.”

While there are mixed reactions from the youth of Enugu State over the ongoing demolition, so members of the State Executive Council of the National Youth Council of Nigeria calls for massive youth protest against the actions of the state government, Comrade Ebuka Okoh called for calm in his statement saying

“By the special grace of God, I remain the Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria Enugu State and every agitation on this issue should be channeled through my office. While I think that it is not out of place for a proactive Government to want to relocate the tenants in our landed property, I’m deploying every arsenal in my official capacity to drive meaningful engagements with the state government to ensure that the landed property which belongs to the youths Council is not tampered with. I’m not unaware of the interview granted by the man in charge of the Enugu State Capital Territory Hon. Ken. Onoh where he said that the Youth Council has defaulted on the Allocation Clause of the property. Even though his assertions raises cause for concern.

For all those who are calling for protest, even though your grievances are understandable, I still implore you to have faith in my office and in the humanity of the Government of the day.
In no distant time, I will address you again on the state of things which should be favourable but for now, have the assurance of my most esteemed regards.”

However, in an interview granted to Chairman of Enugu State Capital Territory Authority by Vanguard Newspaper, he said that the exercise was a development control measure due to the congestion of the city. He also noted that the area where the traders converted into a market was originally a place given to National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, for Youth capacity development and recreation, but which the council turned into a building material market in the heart of the city center.

“As way back as 2003, a site was obtained and designated as Enugu South International market and the successive state administrations failed to relocate the traders to that site in Ugwuaji and its  not only hurting the economy of the state, but also affects the development and growth of the city.

So, we now have an over populated arena which has contravened every single aspect of the Town planning development; and we have given them so much time to relocate to the site. On January 6th 2000, we came for enforcement and we moved a portion of the traders but some said they didn’t have shops. We have the Youth Council which was given this allocation in the 1960s but has abused the purpose clause for which it was given to them. It was given to them for Youth development and recreational activities, but as you can see there is no recreation here. In 1989, they applied for adjustment, an amendment in the purpose clause which said commercial but the commercial activity was supposed to be for the benefit of the council such as a conference hall which they didn’t do but embarked of sale of every single part of the land demised unto them thereby abusing the purpose clause for which this land was demised,” Onoh said.