Coastal Highway: A/Ibom Youths Protest, Demand Compensation For Property

Works on the Okobo local government area, Akwa Ibom State’s portion of the Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway project, have been disrupted by angry youths of Nsie community, demanding adequate compensation for the houses, farmlands, shrines, tombs and aquatic ecosystems destroyed by construction firms handling the project.

Checks by LEADERSHIP revealed the first phase is nearing completion ahead of May, 2026, deadline, but the aggrieved residents of Nsie community have expressed anger that compensation cash for properties destroyed had not been adequately remitted to beneficiaries, out of the reported N18 billion earmarked for it by the federal government.

They accused Hitech Construction Company, a consulting firm for the project, for not living up to expectation in compensation disbursements to the rightful owners.

Consequently, it was learnt, desperate youths of Nsie community, stormed the Hitech Construction sites with large convoy of motorcycles with armed hoodlums, to shut down the firm, demanding settlement before work could continue.

Although it was yet to be ascertained the magnitude of damage to the company’s assets, the irate boys drawn from both the local and national
leadership of Nsie Youth Association (NYA) representing the five
villages making up Nsie Clan, occupied the premises for several hours before community leaders and stakeholders arrived to calm their frayed nerves.

Among the traditional rulers who sued for peace included; Chief Bassey Philip of Nsie Eyo Omoyo village and Chief Bassey John Bassey, of Nsie Eyo Imansek village, calling on the Ahta Oro and Paramount Ruler of Okobo, His Royal Majesty, Edidem Ita Okokon, to use the traditional instrument to address the matter.

According to the protesting youths, compensation packages meant for the community have been hijacked by one of the Community Liaison Officer (CLO), a lecturer at the Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU), whom they accused of haphazard disbursements of the funds and shortchanging several beneficiaries.

“We demand the exposure of these faceless people who took it upon themselves to negotiate and collect the compensation cash on behalf of the community because compensation we got wind of these fraudulently deals since early January, including details of alleged transactions.

A senior official of the Central Working Committee (CWC) of Nsie Youth
Association (NYA), Comrade Victor Daniel Etim, maintained that the youths’ position as absolutely necessary if they must reclaim the community rights and privileges.

Distancing himself from any campaign
to vandalize equipment and assault company workers, he warned the protesters holding the construction project hostage while commending President Bola Tinubu, for the initiative under his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda of holistic development of the country.

“We thank Mr President for this massive project passing through our community, But it is criminal for an individual to disguise as an enlightening
factor to defraud the vulnerable.

“It’s very wrong for an indigene of the community and a staff of Akwa Ibom State university to have fraudulently presented himself to Hitech Construction Company, acting on behalf of the community and manipulated the bank account details of the village head of Nsie community, to facilitate his dubious machination and successfully hacked into the accounts of the rightful beneficiaries of the compensation,” another beneficiary lamented.

He recalled that the CLO had
approached the village heads of the affected communities who are barely literate and arm-twisted them into obliging them with the bank account details to facilitate the disbursement of the cash without consulting the rightful owners.

“I was just in my house thinking of what my children would eat when they are back from school because my wife is late. I had to quickly withdraw part of it to stock foodstuffs for my children until I was told it’s our community compensation for our land,” one of the beneficiaries recalled.

In order not to take the laws into their hands, the youths formally
lodged the issue with the paramount ruler of Okobo, Edidem Ita
Okokon, who summoned the elders, leaders, youths and other stakeholders with a view to resolving the matter for work to resume.

In his remark, the national president of Nsie Youth Association, Mr.
Unwana Okon Oyononwi, condemned the act of a single
individual blind -folding the entire community to take ransom.

He, therefore, urged the paramount ruler to use his royal authority and interface with the community leaders of Nsie, the
youths and Hitech management, to investigate the allegation of defrauding the community as well as bring him to justice.

A representative of the state ministry of works, who preferred anonymity and one, Mr. Udoka, a consultant, expressed total disappointment over the situation and promised to follow the due process of law in order to bring the suspect to book.

But information trending on multiple media platforms since last month
has provided narrowly different narrative claiming full monetary settlement has been reportedly made to the deserving members of the community but wondered why such disbursement got allegedly hooked in the thin air, prompting residents to start pointing accusing fingers at each other, a situation that has the potentiality to blow off the community.

However, investigations have revealed that Hitech Company has provided
adequate compensation and support to the affected communities through various initiatives including jobs, skills empowerment and other Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) services.