Mixed reactions have trailed the attempted removal of the pre-colonial telecommunication mast which was installed in 1947 by the colonial masters at the Palace of the Dein of Agbor kingdom, with accusations and counter accusations flying around.
Residents of Agbor were on Sunday February 7, 2021, hit with the news of the attempt by some persons who are currently cooling their heels at the police station, to cut down the communication mast in question.
According to those who disclosed the information, the major fear was that the culprits instead of dismantling the mast from the top, went ahead to cut the six hundred feet long mast from the base, thereby posing danger to residents living around the palace, as no one knew the direction the mast will fall to.
As the people were worried that not quite long, with the mast hanging on only two out of the four bases, fear of this impending danger gripped residents, mostly those living near the mast.
Albeit as at the time of filing this report the telecommunication mast had fallen but thanks to God no casualty was recorded.
According to some school of thought, even if those caught in the act had the authority to remove the said monument, they were supposed to inform the king and the people living in the community before commencing with the dismantling of the mast.
Some other persons were of the view that the mast in question belongs to the Federal Government of Nigeria, as such, the Federal Government has the right to do whatever it so desire with the said property. They claim that the mast was installed by the colonial masters in 1947, and as such it has become obsolete and posed as a health danger to residents while maintaining that there is a circular by National Communication Commission (NCC) for the decommissioning and dismantling of such masts across the country.
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The personality at the centre of the whole brouhaha, Chief Louis Usifo, the Akpara of Agbor Kingdom, who told his own side of the story in a press statement he made available to newsmen, said his hands are clean in the matter, narrating how some persons came to him with a letter from NITEL claiming that the mast have been sold to them and that they want to commence dismantling.
According to the document, Chief Usifo took the said letter to the Senior Administrative Officer at the Dein’s palace with the sum of Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira that the people presented. However, the Palace Administrative Officer received the letter but did not collect the money from him.
Continuing, he said that he had told the persons that came for the dismantling to wait for the king’s approval as he does not have such authority. But according to him, it was while he was away from town, that he surprisingly received a call from one Stanley, a palace administrator, that the people have started dismantling the said mast. It was at this point, according to him, he had to ask Stanley to invite the police.
However, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) could not be reached as at the time of filing this report, as he was said to be out on official duty when our correspondent visited.
REPORTED BY NICHOLAS EBEGBONI