Why Soludo should rename the airport in Anambra

Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports

The Nteje village in Anambra State’s Oyi Local Government Area has disputed the International Cargo and Passenger Airport’s renaming to honor Umueri in Anambra East Local Government Area, their neighbors.

The decision to name the airport after Umueri was criticized by the protesters as being unfair given that their community donated 70% of the land on which the airport is located. Former Governor Willie Obiano led the administration at the time.

Speaking over the weekend at a meeting of the Nteje Development Union (NDU) caretaker committee, President General Chidiebele Obika urged state governor Prof. Chukwuma Soludo to examine the airport’s status right away in order to acknowledge the community’s significant contributions to the project.

He said: “You know the very land on which the airport is sitting on is 70 percent Nteje land. We donated 500 hectares of land for that project, while Umueri donated 400.

“They (Umueri) later protested that they no longer have land on which to farm, and after that protest, government gave them back 200 hectares.

“Government knows this, and has acknowledged so by even paying us compensation. So, why is the airport bearing Umueri Airport and not Nteje Airport?

“We also donated the major expressway to the airport, which was not paid for because you don’t pay for roads. We donated over 5 kilometers of roads for the dual carriage way, so why then can we not be recognized? We are tempted to ask what manner of politics government is playing with people’s property?

“We are urging the state government to recognize Nteje both in the location of the airport and its ongoing operations, to which we are aware that our citizens also contribute.

Obika urged the government to follow the advice in a white paper written by a panel that was appointed by the former governor Chief Willie Obiano in June 2020 and was chaired by AVM Ben Chiobi (RTD).

He asserted that the implementation, which included the cancellation of all illegally sold real estate and the halt to all future sales, would reduce crime and instability in the neighborhood.