220 families battle CBN over plan to arbitrarily convert clinic in Estate to Covid-19 treatment centre

As parents fret for their children and the psychological trauma of household members, the battle line between 220 owners of homes in a former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) estate in Garki II of the Federal Capital City of Abuja and the apex bank has not only been etched on ground, the residents have fired letters of protests to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Federal Capital Territory Department for Development Control, seeking to stop the conversion of a clinic to a Covid-19 centre.

CBN sold the homes in its former Estate to the new owners 14 years ago.

The Residents’ Association say they are ready to go to the end of the road with bank, starting with the courts, if what they describe as the “unpopular and arbitrary” decision to convert the CBN Clinic in the Estate to a Covid-19 Isolation Centre is not rescinded.

Mum was the response from CBN spokesman, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, who did not return calls to his line, as well as text and WhatsApp messages, hours after they were sent.

According to the association, in a statement, “The Central Bank of Nigeria CBN has planned to convert its clinic inside the estate in Garki 2 as covid treatment centre. The Clinic Doctor and CBN Management staff had met officials of the estate association to brief them of the proposed plan but the residents resisted vehemently …. The association wondered why the clinic inside an estate where more than 200 families live should be converted to treatment centre saying the risk is overwhelming.

“If executed the estate will have only one entrance instead of the normal two as expected by law. The association intend to approach the court should CBN insist on converting the estate into covid treatment centre.”

The residents argue that CBN cannot take the unilateral decision, because it ceased to be the sole owner of the estate when it sold homes to former occupiers.

Protesting home owners in the estate