Bayelsa Demolishes Illegal Structures In Yenagoa

The Bayelsa State Physical Planning and Development Board has intensified the demolition of structures identified as encroaching on government rights of way in Yenagoa, the state capital.

The exercise was carried out along the Etegwe axis of the Mbiama Yenagoa Road, Bay Bridge Road, and INEC Road in Kpansia, where structures the board identified as obstructing designated rights of way were pulled down.

The demolition is part of the state government's efforts to enforce physical planning regulations and improve access to public roads and spaces.

The Chairman of the board, Kuroakegha Dorgu, said the exercise aligned with the urban renewal and physical development agenda of the Governor Douye Diri administration.

Dorgu said the board was committed to ensuring that physical development activities conformed to approved planning standards, government layouts and designated rights of way.

"The Physical Planning and Development Board, as the agency saddled with the responsibility of regulating physical development and promoting orderly urban planning in the state, is demonstrating renewed commitment to ensuring that development activities conform with approved planning standards and established government layouts and rights of way," he said.

He said the exercise was not limited to removing structures but also aimed at improving accessibility, safety, and the appearance of Yenagoa.

"The ongoing intervention is not merely about the removal of illegal structures; it is part of a broader vision to build a cleaner, safer, more accessible and better-planned Yenagoa," Dorgu added.

The board said the enforcement exercise would continue in phases across the capital. Dorgu also urged property owners, developers, traders and residents to comply with physical planning regulations and avoid erecting structures on government rights-of-way and other designated public spaces.

According to reports on the exercise, the board said it had notified affected owners before the demolitions, while some residents affected by the exercise called for relocation assistance. The President of Bayelsa Frontiers, Ben Wilson, who spoke with journalists at the demolition site, commended Governor Douye Diri and Dorgu for the exercise. Wilson said the initiative would help improve Yenagoa's outlook.

The board said it would continue enforcement and sensitisation to protect public spaces and promote orderly physical development across the state capital.