Officials of the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA) and the Ministry of Environment, yesterday raided the official residence of the Enugu State Deputy Governor Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi, carting away over 3,000 egg layer chickens and about 40 crates of eggs from his poultry farm.
The officials, led by their commissioners, Messrs Ikechukwu Ugwuegede and Nnaemeka Chukwuone, arrived at the lodge about 1pm to inform the deputy governor of their intention.
They said the poultry farm was constituting public health hazard.
The deputy governor, who was with his wife and personal aides, including the security officers attached to his office at the lodge, which has been under renovation since September 2012, did not resist the action.
The officials brought four trucks and evacuated the chickens to an unknown destination.
When the government officials could not evacuate the entire birds, Ugwuegede mobilised more uniformed officials of his ministry, who spent about an hour evacuating the birds and the crates of eggs into the four trucks and took them away.
The ECTDA commissioner, however, declined to comment on the development when approached by reporters, who rushed to the scene from the nearby Press Unit of the Government House.
He told them that he did not invite any journalist to witness the exercise.
It was, however, learnt that notices of yesterday’s action had earlier been sent to the deputy governor.
Two letters dated December 24 and 27, 2013 with reference numbers GHE/CAO/31/239 and GHE/CAO/31/240, signed by Mr. G.O.C Ajah, Permanent Secretary in-charge of Government House, Enugu, delivered to the Office of the Deputy Governor the same day, were obtained.
One of the letters, entitled: “Final Notice/Request to stop or relocate the commercial poultry in your official residence”, dated December 27, 2013 reads: “I am directed to request Your Excellency to kindly stop or relocate the commercial poultry farm out of your official residence as it offends the Statutory Certificate/Certificate of Occupancy purpose clause for which the land is used as residential.”