ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State government has said it would be difficult for it to provide a clean, safe, lively and comfortable environment without short term inconveniences to the people.
The Executive Chairman, Bayelsa State Physical Planning and Development Board, Alabo Gideon Ekeuwei, made this known on Tuesday during a working tour of select parts of Yenagoa, the state capital.
He reportedly undertook the tour to enlighten the people on the long term benefits of a sustained urban renewal programme.
Speaking with the people, consisting of motor park operators, distribution companies, property owners, small/medium scale entrepreneurs, private school owners and prospective property developers in Yenagoa, Ekeuwei explained the noble intentions of Governor Douye Diri to deliver a befitting Yenagoa city that Bayelsans and indeed the entire Ijaw nation will be proud of.
Using a “people first, public participatory approach” to urban renewal, he warned of the dangers of building houses under high tension wires, gas pipelines, drainage lines and on roads right-of-way, insisting that all of such developments would be removed in the interest of the people.
Recall that the state government had embarked on the demolition of illegal markets, structures and shanties in the Yenagoa metropolis as part of its urban renewal strategies.
It said the development was informed by the state government’s desire to give the capital city a befitting outlook.