The workers of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, on Tuesday, staged a peaceful protest in Enugu and threatened to drag the state government to court for demolishing their offices and staff quarters.
The workers then gave a seven-day ultimatum to the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, to negotiate with them on how the demolished structures would be replaced.
Governor Mbah’s administration, as part of its urban renewal programme for the proposed Enugu Central Station, penultimate Friday, began the demolition of properties on 30,000 square metres inside the Railway Corporation in the Holy Ghost area.
The reports that the government had demolished Our Saviour Institute of Science, Agriculture and Technology, College of Education and Oha Micro-Finance Bank, ECOBANK Ogbete Main Market branch, First City Monument Bank, Ogbete Main Market branch, among others.
Although several occupants had since gone to court with a few obtaining judgment against the exercise, the state government claimed that it had a Memorandum of Understanding with the Railway Property Management who leased the property to the occupants.
The administration also claimed that the government had paid compensation to the Railway Property and some occupants.
Staging protest on Tuesday, the workers expressed their grievances over the impunity with which the government demolished their offices, staff quarters, and training schools without providing an alternative.
The workers carried placards with different inscriptions and chanted labour solidarity songs while marching through the demolition site.
Addressing journalists during the protest, the President-General of the Nigerian Union of Railway Workers, Comrade Innocent Ajiji, described the demolition as outrageous and unacceptable, adding that the government carried out the exercise with impunity.
Ajiji said contrary to the claim by the government, there was no negotiation with Railway Property Management or the worker’s unions.
“We are here in Enugu today to protest the demolition of our properties by the Enugu State government. We have properties all over Nigeria and if there is a need for the government to invest in our property, there are due processes.
“However, the Enugu State government, on a fateful day on Sunday, we were told that the officials came with bulldozers and started demolishing our structures.
“Ten of our flats with people having their habitation were involved in that demolition. We have a traffic training school that was demolished, and a carriage and wagon workshop was also demolished, including a whole training school of the civil engineering department.
“Also demolished were 10 three-bedroom flats where railway workers and some retirees were living. This is totally unacceptable to us and that is why we came,” he said.
He added that there was already litigation on the properties, as they won at the Industrial Court.
“There are litigations on the houses, we won them (Railway Property Management) at the Industrial Court. The judgment said those houses should be sold to us.
“So Railway Management and the Federal Government now took us to court. The state government has no right to tamper with those properties until the determination of the suit in court.
“The Enugu State government didn’t take all these into cognisance and went ahead to tamper with those properties that are already in court,” he added.
He cited the example of Lagos and Osun states where the properties of the Railway were demolished to make way for modern infrastructure, adding that the two states made provision for an alternative.
“In other states, they demolished some of our houses and they were replicated. They demolished some of our offices, and they were also replicated but we do not know the intention of the Enugu State government.
“He has not come to talk to anybody from our management side or anybody from the Ministry of Transport. The government just came and wanted to occupy our property like that,” Ajiji said.
On the claims by the state government that it had a memorandum of understanding with the railway property company over the demolished property and had paid compensation to the company, the labour leader asked the government to provide evidence.
“That is never true. Our properties are never given out to anybody on MoU, Yes, you must process documents and you will be given documents for lease.
“We don’t give our properties on MoU. We give out our properties on lease and you must make payment. It is only those properties that are not covered by litigation. It happened in Osun. It happened in Lagos and even Kano State.
“The Osun State governor came to us and we spoke. Our houses were replicated because he knew the implications of what he was going to do.
“So, for the Enugu State government, if he has an MoU with the Railway Property Company, that MoU does not cover our houses or our offices. If he has anything like that, let the government place it on the table. Have you seen the MoU? That is not true,” the labour leader said.
He asked the governor to replicate all that had been demolished, 10 three-bedroom flats, the training school, the civil engineering training school and the carriage and wagon training workshop.
Also speaking, the President-General, Senior Staff Association, NRC, Comrade Emeka Okeke, condemned the demolition.
“The issues about MoU and compensations are all lies. We have made our inquiries and all our people said they don’t know anything about the demolition. As far as they don’t meet with us, we don’t believe they will meet anybody,” he said.
Speaking earlier on the demolition, the State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Obi Ozor, while briefing reporters on the project, said the proposed site for the Enugu Central Station would focus on inter-state transportation for Terminal 1 and intra-city transportation for Terminal 2.
He added that the project would be delivered in 12 months, adding that the government had already relocated the occupants of the place and paid compensations that enabled it to commence demolition exercises.
“The land here is owned by the Nigerian Railway Corporation and leased to 29 key legal tenants to the NRC on an average of 10 to 25 years leases.
“Enugu State government has reached an agreement with the NRC and the Federal Ministry of Transportation to lease this place for the construction of the proposed terminal.
“The government has paid compensation to all legal occupants except a few others who are yet to send their details to the government,” he said.
