*Opposition alleges political victimisation
The Cross River State Government has ordered the demolition of the Calabar residence of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, deputy governorship candidate, Alphonsus Eba, citing alleged encroachment on a Water Board pipeline right-of-way.
The move has triggered allegations of political victimisation ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Officials of the Cross River State Planning and Development Control Taskforce on Sunday pasted a demolition notice, referenced CRS/PDCT/043, on the gate of Eba’s residence in the Water Board Estate, directing that all activities on the property cease immediately.
The notice warned that demolition would commence on or after July 6, 2026.
The development comes months after Eba, a former chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Cross River State, defected to the PDP following his removal from office amid disagreements with Governor Bassey Otu.
He was later named running mate to the PDP governorship candidate, Sir Arthur Archibong, for the 2027 election.
Reacting to the demolition order, Eba said he was never personally served any prior notice before government officials marked his property.
“I was not given any prior notice. My people called to tell me that government officials came and pasted a demolition notice on my gate. That was my first knowledge of it,” he said.
The senior lawyer said officials later informed him that the house allegedly sits on a Water Board pipeline corridor but questioned why the issue surfaced only after the building had stood for more than four years.
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“They said my house was built on a Water Board pipeline. But the building has been completed and occupied for over four years without any complaint from any government agency. Why is this issue being raised now?” he asked.
Eba further noted that his residence is located in the Water Board Estate, where several serving and former political office holders, including prominent members of the ruling APC, own houses.
“If this exercise is truly about enforcing planning regulations, then it should be applied fairly to every affected property and not selectively,” he added.
The timing of the demolition order has fuelled speculation among opposition supporters, who contend that the action may be connected to Eba’s recent defection from the APC and his emergence as the PDP deputy governorship candidate.
The state government, however, insists the exercise is part of a broader enforcement campaign to protect critical public infrastructure.
In a letter dated June 24, 2026, the Managing Director of the Cross River State Water Board, Chief Godwin Nyiam, formally requested the Planning and Development Control Taskforce to demolish all illegal structures erected within the Water Board pipeline right-of-way.
The Water Board cited constitutional provisions, the Land Use Act, the Cross River State Urban Development Authority Law and the Cross River State Water Supply and Sanitation Law, 2025, arguing that the structures threaten public infrastructure and uninterrupted water supply.
The Taskforce also maintained that previous compliance notices had been issued to affected property owners before the demolition exercise was scheduled.
It remains unclear whether similar notices have been served on other properties within the Water Board Estate allegedly affected by the same planning violations.
