Super Highway: Ebonyi Community Demands Compensation For Destroyed Farms

The traditional ruler, leaders and stakeholders of Ndiebor Ishieke Autonomous Community in Ebonyi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State have demanded compensation for crops and farmlands allegedly destroyed during borrow-pit excavation for the ongoing Calabar–Ebonyi–Benue–Nas-rawa–Abuja Superhighway project.
The community also called on the Federal Government and the project’s contractors to ensure that excavated borrow pits were reclaimed, further encroachment on unmarked farmlands stopped, and adequate consultations held with affected landowners before additional excavation activities.
The stakeholders made the demands yesterday during a meeting with representatives of the construction company and project liaison officers at Alibaruhu Ishieke in the community, where they expressed concern that the destruction of yam, cassava, rice, millet, beniseed and other crops was threatening the livelihoods of residents who depend largely on farming for survival.
Speaking on behalf of the community, the traditional ruler of Ndiebor Ishieke Autonomous Community, Eze Hyacinth Awoke Nwiboko, said the community welcomed the federal road project but objected to the manner in which borrow pits were being opened on farmlands without what the residents considered adequate consultation and compensation.