Nigeria (Blank NEWS Online) –
The people of Okpanam community in Oshimili North local government area of Delta state have cried out over an alleged plot by the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa led administration, through the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Urban Development to unlawfully exploit them off their lands.
They however appealed to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to give the exercise a human face by properly attending to the views of the people of Okpanam, whose votes contributed to his victory at the polls.
The aggrieved indigenes frowned at the exercise, code named Core Area II A and Core Area II B, claiming that officials of the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Urban Developmthe, acting on the orders of the Commissioner, Sir Dan Okenyi, had begun the marking and pasting of Demand Notice on building properties in the areas.
They had also claimed that Okenyi’s actions are contrary to earlier agreements with the community, which according to them, gave room for negotiations on the charged fees, adding that Okenyi had inadvertently reneged on the advises of the former Director of Lands, who was summarily redeployed to DDPA and the Alex Eboka led committee which he single handedly dissolved against the good intentions of Governor Okowa.
“Okenyi has taken this issue personally against the peaceful people of Okpanam. He does things his own way by engaging some Okpanam youths to undo their own people. This is unfortunate. His actions are more political than policy driven.”
They said that the soft landing to land owners promised by Governor Okowa has turned to outright confrontation with the setting up of a task force led by Chief Frank Omare whom they claimed has threatened to roll in bulldozers for demolition within three months of notice.
They further said that the fees for the regularization of land titles are too high, saying that it overshot the actual fees payable for land allocation, C of O, and approved building plan by 100 percent, arguing that the earlier recommendations of the dissolved committees should have been taken seriously by the Commissioner for Lands, Mr. Dan Okenyi.
They therefore called on the state government to reconsider the regularization exercise and honour the input of land owners in carrying out its assignment.
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Nigeria (Blank NEWS Online) –
E.I.C: Albert Eruorhe Ograka
