Landowners in communities hosting the proposed Abia airport project say they have reclaimed their farmlands ahead of the new planting season, citing what they described as a lack of transparency and sincerity by the Abia State government led by Alex Otti.
The landowners, drawn from Okpuala, Umuezenta and Umuelenwa villages in Umuominta Autonomous Community, Mbwasi, Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area, said the decision was taken to avert hunger and starvation after a year of restricted access to their farms.
They accused the state government of publishing fictitious or non-existent names in the compensation list for land acquired for the airport project, arguing that this had further eroded their confidence in the process.
The communities said they had repeatedly advised the Abia State Ministry of Lands to address alleged irregularities in the compensation exercise, but claimed their concerns were ignored. As a result, they said the government was not engaging with the actual landowners.
Speaking on Tuesday while conducting journalists round the proposed runway site of the Nsulu airport, the village head of Umuezenta and Secretary of the Nsulu Landowners Association, Echezolam Ukaumunna, said the genuine landowners were no longer comfortable with how the process was being handled and had decided to resume farming on their lands.
He alleged that fictitious names appeared on compensation lists for Okpuala, Umuezenta and Umuelenwa, while real landowners with between 50 and 80 portions of land had not been paid.
“If the government was transparent, it would have long published the names of the 3,500 people it claims to have fully compensated,” Ukaumunna said. “What is being paid as compensation is a ridicule and further shows that the process lacks transparency.
”We have a case that is being perpetrated by Mr. Nnamdi Oguwa, an indigene of Umuezenta Village, who connived with government Consultants and Attorneys and engaged in land acquisition in respect of Nsulu Airport. He was fraudulently awarded fictitious square maters in Umuezenta and Umuelenwa villages, thereby displacing the rightful owners of land. We also have fictitious names like Henry Nwosu, Ogbonna Azubuike among others, who do not have portions of land, but have been compensated with huge sums of money.”
He also alleged that some individuals, working with consultants and legal representatives, were fraudulently allocated land portions, thereby displacing rightful owners.
According to Ukaumunna, the government has not disclosed the rate paid per portion of land or for cash crops. He said those invited to Umuahia were made to sign indemnity forms and later paid amounts determined unilaterally by the authorities, without regard to the size of their holdings.
He added that farming activities were largely abandoned last year because of the acquisition, worsening economic hardship in the area. He claimed that petty crime had increased as youths struggled to cope with the situation.
Ukaumunna said the communities had resolved to reclaim their farmlands to prevent hunger, while allowing the government to continue work on areas already designated for the runway.
He stressed that the communities were not opposed to the airport project itself, but called for transparency and direct engagement with genuine landowners.
In separate remarks, residents Isaac Ndukwe and a widow, Ihuoma Ogubunka, said they were exhausted by repeated meetings that yielded no tangible results.
They appealed to Governor Otti to closely scrutinise those representing the government in discussions with the villagers including: the Chief of Staff Pastor Caleb Ajagba, Commissioner for Lands Mr. Chaka Chukwumerije among others.
They said the inability to farm had deepened hunger and hardship, forcing the communities to reclaim their lands to feed their families and support their children’s education, while remaining open to dialogue with the government when it is ready to engage the rightful landowners.
