Abia gov urged to compensate communities for airport land

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has been urged to compensate 10 communities whose land was acquired for the construction of an international airport in the state.

The airport project, which was flagged off in December 2024, is being built at Nsulu in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of the state.

However, a petition made available to Saturday PUNCH by a legal practitioner, Simon Nwangwa, revealed that the state government acquired approximately 1,350 hectares of land from the affected communities for the airport development.

The communities affected by the land acquisition include: Ubaha Nsulu, Umuosu Nsulu, Nbawsi, Ikputu Nsulu, Umuode Nsulu, Umuogu Nsulu, Umuodeche Nsulu, Umuezeukwu Nsulu, Umuezenta, and Umuala Nsulu.

According to Nwangwa, the residents of Ubaha Nsulu have suffered “double jeopardy” due to the land acquisition for the airport.

He emphasised that while the government had the right to acquire land for public purposes, it was crucial to engage the landowners and their representatives in open discussions to ensure they were adequately compensated.

“The government has the constitutional right to acquire land for public purposes, but there is need for the government to engage the landowners and their representatives in a roundtable discussion. A transparent negotiation process is crucial to ensure that compensation is fair, reasonable, and sufficient to meet the needs of the affected communities,” Nwangwa said.

He further stated out that Ubaha Nsulu, which had lost the most land among the host communities, was the only village that welcomed officials from both the Federal Ministry of Aviation and the Abia State Government despite the hardships they had faced.

Speaking with our correspondent, the Chief Press Secretary to the Abia State Governor, Ukoha Njoku, said the state government was committed to paying compensation to all affected communities.

“The payment of compensation is a policy of this government, and it is already in progress. While we recognise that all land technically belongs to the government, we also understand that the land was lands were previously used by the communities for farming or other purposes. As such, we have always paid compensation whenever land is acquired for development purposes, including the dualisation or expansion of roads,” Njoku said.

He clarified the government’s stance on the airport project, saying, “The government is fully committed to compensating all the communities whose lands fall within the project corridor.

“This is a matter of policy, and arrangements are already in place to ensure that the payments are made without delay. The government does not require any external push for this process to continue.”