Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has said his government has paid compensation to owners of properties affected by road projects over the past three and a half years, saying infrastructure expansion must not impose unnecessary hardship on residents.
The state has paid roughly N7 billion to about 4,865 households across Kaduna’s three senatorial districts since Sani took office, the governor said while launching a new round of compensation for 865 households affected by the Zaria, Giwa and Shika township road schemes.
The latest payments, valued at about N2 billion, were formally commenced on Saturday. Speaking at Waziri Lawal Primary School in Angwan Iya, Zaria city, Sani said his administration had been guided since assuming office on May 29, 2023, by the principle that development should protect human dignity.
“Infrastructure is the visible form of progress, but the equity of its delivery determines whether people see government as providing security and opportunity,” he said.
Sani said the rebuilding of 11 township roads in Zaria and Sabon Gari Local Government Areas, together with road works in Giwa and Shika townships, was designed to strengthen transport links and broaden commercial activity. The projects are expected to make travel easier, aid trade and improve communities’ access to schools, health facilities and other vital services, he said.
The long-term worth of the investments, he added, would depend on the economic openings they generate and the improvement they bring to residents’ living standards.
As construction moved forward, authorities identified houses, businesses and public-service installations located within the designated road corridors. The governor said the state concluded that managing the impact on affected people required the same level of attention given to engineering and construction standards.
“Today, we begin issuing compensation cheques totalling approximately N2 billion,” Sani said. He said the funds were intended to help families move, reconstruct their homes and reorganise their sources of income.
Compensation, he said, is a duty owed to people whose assets are needed for public projects, and is intended to prevent infrastructure gains from being achieved at the expense of avoidable losses for directly affected residents.
The governor praised owners of the 865 affected households in areas spanning Babban Dodo to Kofar Kuyan Bana, Rimin Tsiwa to Kofar Gayan, Tudun Wada, Giwa Township and Shika Township for their patience during the process.
He acknowledged that moving can involve financial costs, uncertainty and the loss of familiar surroundings, and said residents’ constructive engagement had enabled the government to better understand how the projects were affecting their daily lives.
Sani also commended surveyors, valuers, engineers and community representatives involved in assessing the affected properties. He directed relevant utility agencies to speed up the safe transfer of water, power and telecommunications facilities from the road project corridors.
