……..says nothing political about agency performing its role
…….buildings old enough to have drawn government attention — Nyeneime Andy
Written by: Ubong Sampson – Uyo
Chairman of Uyo Capital City Development Authority (UCCDA), Mr. Enobong Uwah has insisted the recent marking of the Holy Ghost Ambassador and other buildings for demolition was strictly on grounds that the affected buildings negate minimum requirement for its development, pointing to inadequate setbacks, space standard, building line and area distribution.
Uwah made this known to our correspondent who contacted him on phone to seek clarity on the controversial dimension the development has assumed, following claims by perceived members of the Holy Ghost Ambassadors Church and followers of the church’s founder, Apostle Nyenime Andy, that the move was an attempt by the state government to witch-hunt the pastor who has in recent times been vocal against some activities of actors in the Udom Emmanuel administration, especially as it concerns the succession of the incumbent in 2023.
Recall that while the agency had announced the marking of three church buildings within the capital city as illegal structures, the case of Andy’s Holyghost Ambassador was reported to have been preceded by an invitation and quiz session by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Uyo. Other churches marked for demolition as announced by UCCDA are Dunamis Church along Ikpa road and God’s House of Refuge, Ikot Ebido.
According to Uwah, the exercise is a routine one for the agency and the recent one was just one of such. He maintained that it is the duty of the agency to ensure structures are not raised against planning standards and there is no reason for people to fuss about the agency simply functioning in its role.
He also explained that the government is neither after any individual nor their buildings, as there is room for anyone that has approval for their structure to present same, and even an extra show of magnanimity on the part of government for those without approval to approach the agency and apply.
The Uyo born politician further advised those over-blowing the issue from the angle of the affected churches to ask their pastors if they have approval for the buildings, as that will show them the need not to politicise the development, as no building with approval will be demolished.
Meanwhile an earlier statement by the leadership of the agency had stressed that the affected structures do not meet planning standard for approval as the buildings negate minimum requirement for its development, pointing to inadequate setbacks, space standard, building line and area distribution.
“The exercise is not targeted at any particular individual or organisation and warned people to ignore attempt by some structure owners, at whipping sentiments to curry sympathy. Subsequently, those who feel their structures are marked for demolition in error, are expected to report to the Authority with their approved building plan duly signed by an authorized official”, the statement added.
In his reaction, the Head Pastor of Holyghost Ambassadors church, Nyeneime Andy laughed at the claim of his church building not having approved plan, adding that the building is old and famous enough to have gotten the attention of government before now. He however declined speaking further as he will soon address the press.
Meanwhile, pundits had taken to the social media in expressing their different views of the development, while a collection of social media users condemned the move by government, describing it as attempting to intimidate the Holyghost Ambassador pastor who has been uncomfortable and showing same about recent alliances between the government in the state and the leadership of the Christian religion who have been codenamed “fathers of faith”.
Some of the comments questioned how the government whose top functionaries have been attending the said church over the years, took this long to notice that the church building did not meet the minimum standard for planning approval.
