The Umunugwu community in the Enugu-South council area of Enugu has apologised to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the LG chair, Chimezie Nkwuo, over its protest on January 17.
They appealed to Messrs Ugwuanyi and Nkwuo to forgive them and continue road work in the area, saying they had earlier thought the Ebonyi government and the council chairman wanted to encroach on their land.
Speaking to journalists on Sunday in Enugu, Okwudili Aniagu, chairman of Umunugwu General Assembly, said the part cleared was a shared boundary with their community.
“So we are here today to make peace and beg our chairman and Governor Ugwuanyi to forgive us as Nkwuo is even our brother. We have found out the truth, and we are begging the state government to continue with the road work,” Mr Aniagu pleaded.
On January 17, the community protested over a perceived encroachment into their ancestral land situated along the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway. https://gazettengr.com/enugu-community-protests-accuses-lg-chair-of-land-encroachment/
While calling on Mr Ugwuanyi for help, they pointedly accused Mr Nkwuo of being the arrowhead of grabbing their land.
An investigation by correspondents revealed that the government was clearing the land to construct an access road to the community.
Corroborating what Mr Aniagu said, an elder in the community, Friday Onovo, said they had resolved all the issues surrounding the land, adding that they were calling on the general public to disregard their earlier protest.
Responding, Mr Nkwuo, a community member, said community members were his brothers, explaining that some people who did not like him misled them into the protest.
According to him, the state government is constructing a road on the land at Ugwuaji International Building Material Market that shares a boundary with Umunugwu land.
“I have accepted their apology, and my concern is how to attract development and amenities to my people and ensure that what belongs to them is not denied them, not taking over their lands,” Mr Nkwuo said.
(gazettengr.com/NAN)
