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 made the pledge while distributing cheques to affected households along the 15 kilometre Ring Road corridor from Danbushiya Junction to Danhono 2, at the Millennium City.
He further said that ‘’public interest can never justify injustice. “There cannot be meaningful development at the expense of 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.’’
’’ And there we had not only an engineering problem, but a moral imperative. “The question before us was not only how to accelerate construction but how to balance the public interest with the rights and the dignity of individual citizens,” he added.
“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,” the Governor said.
Today we start giving out compensation cheques to 122 households affected along this Ring Road corridor. Thank you to all households here for your patience, understanding and cooperation during this process.
‘I understand that change can be uncomfortable and uncertain. “I understand that having to move or having to adapt can be draining for families,” 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 said his Government has been issuing cheques to households that have been impacted by projects since the beginning of this administration.
‘’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.
“Overall, our administration has disbursed over N3 billion as compensation to affected citizens across various projects. “We will continue to ensure our compensation processes are transparent, verifiable, equitable and timely,” he pledged.
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.
If progress leaves citizens behind, it loses its moral purpose. He argued that, therefore, ‘fairness and empathy must be our compass in implementing our transformation agenda’.