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From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Property owners at Gbagyi Villa in Chikun, Kaduna State, on Thursday, commended the State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, for allowing justice to take its course after a five-year court case over land encroachment around Kaduna Polytechnic.
The Kaduna State Government, through the Kaduna State Urban and Property Development Authority (KASUPDA), had between late 2015 and early 2016 issued demolition notices against all buildings in the Gbagyi Villa community.
As a result, the Gbagyi Villa Property Owners Association instituted a case in the state high court to safeguard their property, which eventually ruled in their favour.
Addressing a press conference in Kaduna, the Chairman, the Gbagyi Villa Property Owners Association, Chris Obodumu, expressed the readiness of the community to support the state government to move the state forward.
‘We want to specially commend His Excellency, Malam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, the Governor of Kaduna State, and his entire government because for all of the five years that the case lasted, he allowed it to run its full course through the court without interference. Throughout the period, the governor did nothing either to jjeopardis the legal process or to render worthless any possible outcome of this process,’ he said.
‘In short, the governor demonstrated that he is a believer in the rule of law, and he upheld it to the end. We are immensely grateful to him.
‘We do not regard the court judgment as a victory for us as such. The judgment is a victory for the rule of law. We believe that the judiciary has simply granted us an opportunity for fresh beneficial interactions and interface with our government. We appeal to the government to view this judgment in the same light.
‘At this point, we call on Governor El-Rufai to draw a line underneath the entire Gbagyi Villa issue so that together we can work to move Kaduna state forward. We appeal to him to allow matters to end at this stage.
‘We further appeal to him to direct (KASUPDA) to regularise our documents. We are eager to fulfil our duties as citizens, including honouring all financial obligations to the government as the government may decide.
‘We note with admiration the massive infrastructural development being governor’s undertaken throughout the state.
‘We commend the governor’s determination to renew, re-engineer and re-focus the foundation of the state as a whole towards a greater tomorrow.
‘We call on all citizens to cooperate with the government in this effort. We wish to appeal to His Excellency to assist Gbagyi Villa to solve some of its infrastructural challenges, especially in the area of roads, drainages and other social amenities.
‘We pray for more success for the government of Kaduna state, We pray for peace to reign,’ he stated.
