Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State said on Tuesday in Gusau that about 800 houses had been marked for demolition to make way for the construction of the Gusau Airport.
Yari, who made the announcement while speaking to newsmen at the Government House, said that compensation would not be paid for structures that were illegally constructed on the site, News Agency of Nigeria reported.
He said that residents of the affected area should not blame his government for doing the right thing.
“Since they knew that the site belongs to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency before they ventured into building their houses, no compensation would be paid to them.”
Yari expressed surprise over the action of the residents coming out to offer “special prayers” against him over the impending demolition exercise.
“Their prayers may spell doom for them because we, as a government, never offended anybody.”
The governor advised those affected to look at the issue objectively and seek alternative accommodation as his administration would not rescind its decision to demolish the marked houses.