March 17, (THEWILL)- Traditional rulers in Mbume Clans in Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State, have faulted moves by the Cross River State Government to cancel cocoa estates allotted during the tenure of former Governor Ben Ayade.
The traditional rulers said it was wrong to contemplate cancelling the allotment, as it runs foul of court judgements and can lead to a breakdown of law and order.
Besides, they argued, those who were successfully allotted estates have genuine records of payment to government coffers.
Chairman, Crises Management Committee, Mbume Blocks of Clans, (Cocoa Host Communities), Ntufam Odu Ndep Moses, disclosed this in an interview.
He said rather than cancelling estates validly allotted, the present administration should make use of the remaining 3,137 hectares unallocated by the previous administration.
According to him, “Statistics revealed that 1,415 hectares were allocated out of a total of approximately 4,552 hectares.
“The government can still make use of the remaining 3,137 hectares to avoid crisis outbreaks within the host communities.
“From what we gathered, the allocation of the 1,414 hectares was a way to execute the court’s consent Judgement by past administration and up to 30 million naira was lodged into the state government’s account by immediate past administration”, he said.
He added that findings from his committee show that the money collected from the allocation of 1,415 hectares by the previous administration was used to defray 16-year-old royalty and debt, which the state government owed cocoa landlord communities.
Ndep said the six-man Crises Management Committee came to this conclusion and allegations that the previous administration encroached into farmlands were false.
The traditional ruler also urged Governor Otu to continue to make use of the smartgov platform for payment of royalties and rent to landlord communities as it is also a product of a consent judgement the previous government implemented.
About the Author
THEWILL Correspondent, Aniekan Bassey has over six years experience that spans across several fields in print journalism including development communication, sexual reproductive and health rights issues, crime, climate change, social justice, business and human interest stories.
