NIGERIA (Bauchi)- State government has commenced the payment of compensation worth N232 million to about 335 villagers, whose farmlands and plots were acquired by government for the construction of the Bauchi campus of the state-owned university.

Presenting the cheques to the beneficiaries yesterday at the state Ministry of Higher Education, Chairman of the payment committee, Alhaji Sa’idu Jahun explained that government had acquired from the villagers a total of 1, 069 hectares of land: 545 hectares for the site one and 524 hectares for site two of the university respectively.

Jahun said the committee had spent three weeks at the affected areas to identify genuine beneficiaries and ascertain the value of their plots used in order to ensure fairness and justice in the payment of the compensation even as he urged them to see the establishment of the new university in the community as a good development.