Fear and uncertainty grips workers over illegal occupation of quarters in Adamawa

From Umar Dankano,Yola.

The ongoing retrieval exercise of government houses from illegal occupants by a joint taskforce Committee is creating serious acrimony,fear and uncertainty among the civil servants in Adamawa state.

Recalled that,Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri constituted a 9-man joint taskforce Committee on retrieval of government quarters on the 15th September 2023 to flush out illegal occupants in government residential quarters across the 21 local government areas in the state.

However, enforcement of the onerous exercise in the state was received with mixed reactions as some residents are Welcoming the development saying is an opportunity for the right occupants of such quarters to do so on merit while others are of the view that, the state government is hash and not fair to them claiming to be enjoying owner’s occupier scheme policies undertaken by previous administrations in the state.

Responding to these concerns in an interview with peoples Daily in Yola Thursday, Chairman of the joint taskforce Committee, Engineer John Vandu explained that constitution or composition of his Committee is an upshoot of a previous Committee which did a thorough job of identifying and recommending to government, best ways to handle the situation fairly in the interest of Justice.

Engineer Vandu said the committee which consist of civil servants, judicial staff, security agents and media have visited many institutions like government’s schools and hospitals and have sealed all identified houses that are illegally occupied.

Vandu stated that over three hundred houses illegally occupied have been sealed in Northern and Central zones ordering them to vacate within 3 days or be sanctioned by wrath of laws establishing the committee.

He mentioned that, the committee has visited government quarters in Yola Specialist hospital,GMMC Yola,Govt.Technical College Yola,Govt.Girls Secondary school Yola and Aliyu Mustapha College Yola.

Others institutions visited were;GSS Michika,Govt.Science and Govt.Technical colleges Mubi and GSS Song respectively.

While confessing of resistance by occupants claiming to have been residing in the quarters for over a decade or so in some areas,He acknowledged the support and cooperation rendered to his Committee by head of such institutions especially the principals and Chief medical Directors of the hospitals in those institutions.

The chairman revealed that illegal occupants of government quarters who are in the payroll of state government will not receive their November salary while doors, windows and roofs of those not in the payroll will be remove warning those violating or tempering with sealed sticker pasted on their houses to desist from such act or face the wrath of the law.

” People need to understand that,removing the sealed stickers is a serious offence and offenders will be dealt with accordingly.

“We are giving those that their houses are sealed, 3 days to vacate or we stop their salary from this month (November)and if push to the wall,we are left with no option but to use maximum force in flushing them out”.The chairman fumes