No fewer than 800 houses built on waterways have been earmarked for demolition in Benue State.

This is to avert flooding as the rainy season sets in.

The General Manager of the State Urban Development Board, Mede Ternongo, disclosed this to journalists in Makurdi, the state capital, on Thursday.

The board, on Wednesday, started demolition of over 40 illegal structures defacing major roads and streets within Makurdi, the state capital.

He said the exercise was part of the state government’s determination to revitalise the state capital, adding that the board was given the mandate to bring the city back to what it should be.

He stated that in the first phase of the exercise, they have been able to remove over 40 shanties developed around town and open roads that were blocked by developers.

Ternongo said that the exercise would continue in places where developers are blocking access roads and would cover the entire Makurdi city.

He said, “We intend to open the roads, and major access routes in the city. We just started with the Southbank area of Makurdi, and very soon, we will move to the North Bank area of Makurdi.

“If you go to the North Bank area around the Catholic church, you will see containers lying on the fence, and it has reduced the roadside and defaced the environment.

“Enough notice was served on the affected people because we don’t want to remove or demolish any property without giving notification.”

He added that the governor has provided the necessary logistics to be able to carry out the exercise.

“The governor has promised to give us bulldozers, payloaders and operational vehicles to ease our jobs.

“I have discussed with the governor the need to build a GSM village for the mobile phone dealers and I believe that after this exercise, I will go back to the governor and see how we can commence the building of the village. We have identified the spot, and I have told him, and he accepted.

“We have about 800 houses built on waterways that have been earmarked for demolition,” he said.

He advised developers to always seek approval from the board before building.