Abia Airport: Land Owners Protest Over Non-Payment of Compensation

Community members in Nsulu, Isiala Ngwa North Locals Government of Abia State, have staged a peaceful protest to express their concerns over the non-payment of compensation for individual lands taken over by the government for the ongoing construction of the Abia State Airport.

The protest which took place on Tuesday, October 7, 2025 was initiated to call the attention of the state government again to the destroyed farmlands and other private properties that were affected by the ongoing project.

While speaking on behalf of the protesters,the secretary of Nsulu Land Owners Association, Echezulam Gabriel, expressed the dissatisfaction of the people over the matter.
He said although the governor of the state has come out several times to debunk their claims that not everyone has been paid, the reality still remains that not every family has been compensated for the lands taken from them..

“We have been displaced by the government and nothing is being done about it. Most of us have 7 portions of land, others have 5, others have 3. Our crops have been harvested and condemned yet the government keeps saying they have paid everyone. Lots of families are yet to be paid and the ones that have been paid are just a few.

How are we going to survive come January when we are supposed to harvest our crops? There’s nothing left for us to feed on. We are farmers and the government has left us stranded” he lamented bitterly.

Speaking on the way forward, Echezulam Gabriel asked the government on behalf of the people to release a list of persons whose lands were collected for the airport project, specifying how many portions were collected and how much each portion should get in compensation.

“We have heard a lot of things lately. But we just want to request that the names of families whose lands were taken should be published in a list. Tell us how many families and how many lands you took.

Tell us how much one portion of land is worth. Tell us how many you have paid. Tell us the rest of the person yet to be paid. We are tired of hearing that we have all been paid when in reality, we are perishing here. Release the list and make it public”

The protesters off record, threatened to stop the work ongoing there of their demands were not met.

The ongoing Abia State Airport project was flagged off at Nsulu by Governor Alex in July, 2025.