Residents of Umuezenta, Umuelenwa, and Okpuala villages in Mbawsi, Isiala Ngwa North LGA, have raised serious allegations against the Abia State Government over what they describe as fraudulent handling of compensation for lands acquired for the proposed Abia Airport Project.
The communities say they are being short changed and ignored, despite their lands being bulldozed to make way for the ambitious infrastructure. During a media briefing on Tuesday, local leaders showed journalists around the proposed airport runway site, revealing deep grievances ranging from lack of proper agreements to suspected name-swapping in the government’s compensation list.
In what appears to be the height of the controversy, villagers allege that non-existent names, especially Yoruba names, have appeared in the landowner compensation list; replacing real owners from the host communities.
“We went to Umuahia to confirm our names, only to see strange Yoruba names in the list. This is fraud,” said one woman who asked not to be named.
Community leaders also expressed shock that the size of land listed does not match what was actually taken from them. According to them, the government is underreporting the land size to avoid paying full compensation.
The Village Head of Umuezenta and Secretary of the Nsulu Landowners Association, Echezolam Ukaumunna, said the government has failed to provide any Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or signed Land Agreement with the affected communities.
“Until we see the MoU and the full compensation is paid, no contractor will continue work here,” Ukaumunna stated, accusing the government of running the airport project on propaganda and deceit.
He stressed that their communities are not uninformed, boasting professionals like engineers and surveyors who understand the true dimensions of airport runway projects. “We are not fools,” he added.
Many of the affected landowners are full-time farmers, who now say they face starvation in the coming year as they can’t afford new farmlands.
“They’ve razed all our crops. From Ubaha to Umuosu, not a single new farm has been cultivated since the bulldozers came. How do they expect us to feed?” Ukaumunna lamented.
The villagers say the government had promised ‘adequate compensation’, but nothing reasonable has been paid, leaving many in limbo with no alternative means of survival.
They are now demanding the publication of:
- A full list of the 3,500 people compensated (as claimed by the Chief of Staff, Pastor Caleb Ajagba),
- Actual land sizes acquired, and
- The rate of compensation per landowner.
If these demands are not met, the communities say they will take action by shutting down the airport project.
