Governor Uba Sani has vowed that his administration will never dispossess any citizen of Kaduna State of his or her property without fair and adequate compensation.
The Governor gave the pledge after giving out cheques to affected households along the 15 kilometre Ring Road corridor from Danbushiya Junction to Danhono 2, at the the Millennium City.
He also claimed that ‘’public interest can never justify injustice. Development cannot be meaningful if it inflicts hardship without compassion, or progress without fairness.’’
Governor Uba Sani said that after the groundbreaking, construction work moved forward but it ‘’became clear that some households and structures were within the specified right-of-way of the project.’’
’’ At that point, we faced not only an engineering challenge but a moral obligation. “The question before us was not simply how to advance construction, but how to balance the public interest with the rights and dignity of individual citizens,’’ he added.
The Governor said his administration “deliberately decided to temporarily slow certain construction activities to allow for a thorough, transparent and equitable assessment of all affected properties and utilities.”
‘’Today, we begin the distribution of compensation cheques to 122 affected households along this Ring Road corridor. To all households present here, I want to thank you for your patience, understanding and cooperation during this process.
‘I understand change can be unsettling and uncertain. “Having to move or adapt can be a drain on families, I get that,’’ he said.
The Governor said the distribution of the cheques is not an act of charity but an act of justice, saying that “restitution aimed at helping affected households to rebuild, relocate, reorganise and continue their lives with dignity and confidence.”
He pointed out that his Government has, since the beginning of this administration, been issuing cheques to households that have been impacted by projects.
‘’We have compensated about 189 households in Rigasa on the Rigasa Township Roads Project, 120 households in Mahuta on the Rabah Road Project, 282 households from Magajiya to Albarkawa in Zaria, 14 households from Audi to Kako, 86 households linking Dogon Bauchi to Kakiyeyi and 33 households on the Kabala Costain corridor, among others across Kaduna State.
“In total, our administration has paid out more than N3 billion as compensation to affected citizens across various projects. We will continue to ensure that our compensation processes are transparent, verifiable, equitable and timely,’’ he promised.
Governor Uba Sani said that his administration has been guided by a principle that is simple in expression but profound in meaning since he assumed office: development must be pursued with justice, compassion and integrity.
Progress without citizens is a hollow moral cause. He argued that, therefore, ‘in implementing our transformation agenda, fairness and empathy must remain our compass’.
