By EFFANGA OSOK

₦117.5bn Medical City: Akwa Ibom Families Challenge Compensation as Govt Keeps Silent

THE construction of the Ibom Medical City in Ikono Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State is being presented as a landmark investment in healthcare. But for residents whose homes and properties stand within the project’s footprint, the development has brought a different reality: demolition, displacement and disputes over compensation.

The state government has committed ₦117.5 billion to major components of the project in its 2026 budget. Yet several affected property owners say the compensation approved for their buildings falls substantially below the cost of replacing what they lost.

Interviews with affected residents, estate valuers and lawyers, together with valuation reports, rejection letters and other documents reviewed in the course of the investigation, indicate significant differences between government-approved compensation and independent assessments of some properties.

The government has not publicly explained the methodology used to arrive at the disputed figures.

A Project Promising a New Healthcare Era

Governor Umo Eno unveiled the project as one of the most ambitious investments of his administration. The Medical City, planned across 100 hectares, is intended to provide a network of specialised healthcare facilities and reduce the need for residents to travel outside the state for advanced treatment.

The plan includes the Ibom International Hospital, an Advanced Diagnostic Centre, a Mental Rehabilitation Centre and the Arise Renal Medical Centre/Dialysis Centre.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, Mr. Eno described the investment as more than a construction project, presenting it as a long-term investment in the health and economic future of Akwa Ibom.

Project Manager Teinye Isokariari said the medical city would include a 10-storey complex with 62 medical specialties and advanced medical technology.

The Federal Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, also described the project as an example of the type of healthcare investment that could support Nigeria’s broader health-sector reforms.

Few of the affected property owners interviewed objected to the project itself.

Their concern is different.

They want the government to compensate them adequately for the land and structures acquired for it.

When Public Development Meets Private Loss

For Nduke Pious, the dispute became particularly painful after she returned home from hospital following the birth of her fourth child.

She said her three-bedroom bungalow, located about 500 metres from the project site, was demolished even though she had rejected the compensation offered by the government.

Pious said she had spent more than ₦3 million developing the building to lintel level. The compensation approved for her property, she said, was ₦550,000.

With the demolition, she was left temporarily dependent on her sister for accommodation.

Her experience is not isolated.

Sunday Okon, a mobile phone repairer and father of three, said he borrowed money and combined it with his savings to complete and roof a three-bedroom house after an earlier displacement.

Two months after moving into the property, he said he learnt that the building had been marked for acquisition.

The government offered him ₦5.6 million.

Okon said the amount did not reflect what it would cost him to build another house, estimating that he would need at least ₦16 million to reproduce the property at prevailing construction costs.

“I’m appealing to the governor to provide adequate compensation so I can build another house for my children,” he said.

A Pattern of Rejected Offers

Documents and interviews reviewed for the investigation indicate that more than a dozen property owners rejected compensation offers.

Anietie Effiong, for example, said he was offered ₦2.1 million for a three-bedroom bungalow. He rejected the offer and requested a revaluation.

He estimated the property’s replacement value at about ₦9 million.

Edet Etuk said the government approved ₦1.4 million for his four-bedroom bungalow, which had reached wall-plate level. He also rejected the offer.

In another case, Idongesit Nnimmong said she spent years acquiring materials and developing two plots of land before learning that compensation for the properties had been fixed at ₦896,000.

She publicly appealed to Governor Eno and other political leaders to review the amount.

Glory Ntokon said the acquisition also disrupted her efforts to secure a permanent home for herself and her two children. She said the ₦1.5 million offered to her was insufficient to rebuild.

The cases point to a recurring concern among affected residents: that compensation may cover only a fraction of the cost of replacing the structures being acquired.

The Valuation Gap

The most striking evidence comes from independent valuation reports.

Christiana Ekpo was offered ₦540,000 for a three-bedroom bungalow developed beyond damp-proof course level.

An independent valuation conducted by Mathias Hope and Associates put the value of the property at ₦3.8 million.

The firm used the Depreciated Replacement Cost Method in arriving at its assessment.

In the cases of Sunday Okon and Friday Okon, the differences were also substantial.

Their estate valuer, Udom Udim, assessed the properties at ₦18.6 million and ₦20 million respectively.

The government-approved compensation figures were ₦5.6 million and ₦8 million.

Udim said his assessments were prepared using established professional valuation standards. He also confirmed that the reports were submitted to the Ministry of Lands and Town Planning.

The resulting disagreement goes to the centre of the controversy.

The affected residents say the government’s offers do not reflect the current cost of rebuilding.

The independent valuers maintain that their assessments reflect prevailing construction and property values.

The government, however, has not publicly provided the valuation schedules or methodology used to explain the differences.

₦117.5 Billion Commitment

The compensation dispute is taking place against the backdrop of an enormous public financial commitment.

Akwa Ibom’s 2026 budget provides ₦100 billion for the Ibom International Hospital.

Another ₦10 billion is allocated to the Advanced Diagnostic Centre, while ₦5 billion is earmarked for the Mental Rehabilitation Centre.

The Arise Renal Medical Centre/Dialysis Centre receives another ₦2.5 billion.

Together, the allocations amount to ₦117.5 billion, representing more than six per cent of the state’s ₦1.5 trillion 2026 budget.

That scale of spending makes the compensation question particularly significant.

The issue is not whether the state has committed substantial resources to healthcare. It clearly has.

The issue is whether people whose properties are acquired to facilitate the project are being treated transparently and compensated in a manner that enables them to replace what they have lost.

A Familiar Healthcare Investment Question

The compensation dispute also raises questions about the state’s broader approach to major healthcare infrastructure.

The government has allocated ₦2 billion in the 2026 budget for the completion of the Ibom Multi-Specialty Hospital, a facility associated with an earlier administration.

That creates an additional policy question: how will the new Medical City complement existing specialist healthcare infrastructure, particularly facilities that remain incomplete?

For residents affected by the new project, however, the larger policy debate remains secondary to their immediate circumstances.

They surrendered land and homes for a project they say they support.

What they want in return is the means to rebuild.

Government Yet to Explain Its Figures

The Ministry of Lands and Town Planning was asked to explain how the compensation figures were determined.

Questions were also raised about whether independent valuation reports submitted by affected residents were considered before compensation amounts were approved.

The Commissioner for Lands and Town Planning, Ubong Inyang, declined to comment and referred the matter through other government channels.

The Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, said he needed specific information about the affected properties before responding.

Detailed questions were subsequently sent to him. They included requests for the valuation rates, assessment criteria and schedules used by the ministry and whether those materials were publicly available.

No response had been received at the time of publication.

That silence leaves a central question unanswered.

As the cranes, bulldozers and construction crews advance the Medical City project, the affected families are still waiting to understand how the government calculated the value of the homes and investments they were required to surrender.

For them, the success of the project will not be measured only by the size of its buildings or the sophistication of its medical equipment.

It will also be measured by whether the people displaced to make way for it are able to rebuild their lives.