By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
The paramount ruler, Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State, His Royal Highness Ntufam Oru Ojong, has described as injustice, to compel former Special Adviser on Cocoa Development to former Governor Ben Ayade, Ntufam Dr. Oscar Ofuka,to refund money that stakeholders in the cocoa value chain paid into the coffers of state government.
The traditional admonished the state government to be cautious in taking decisions on new policy on cocoa estate allocation.
He urged the state governor, Senator Bassey Edet Otu, to shelve the plan of compelling Ofuka to make refund of monies laid into government coffers.
The traditional ruler made the remark at his place yesterday in Ikom Local Government Area, while reacting to calls by state government that contractors allocated with plots of cocoa at Government Cocoa Estate should vacate their farms at the end of the year and demand for refunds of their money from Ofuka.
Recall that the Secretary to the Cross River State Government, Prof. Anthony Owan Enoh, had about a month ago released a statement asking contractors that paid money to state government account while the previous administration was in power for cocoa plots at the state government cocoa estate, to demand for refunds.
The terms of reference given to pre- cocoa allocation committee set up by the Otu’s administration is to determine total hectares encroached, ascertain total scope of new farms over the past four years and to also determine the total indebtedness to landlord communities.
The royal father said, “Asking Ofuka to make refunds of money paid into government coffers with a TIN number from the state Internal Revenue Service, IRS would be a great ‘injustice,’ stressing that there is no way one can ask cocoa contractors to vacate the farms, after contract fee had been paid and the money shared to landlords communities as royalties.
“I said this to avert outbreak of crises in the area approximately after December this year. Government is a continuum. What the previous administration did was to make use of the smart.gov platform, introduced for payment of royalties.
“We liked the formular introduced by the previous administration in payment of royalties to Etung cocoa landlord communities.”
The royal father asked the Otu administration to open its eyes widely and remember that whatever the previous administration did regarding the leasing of government cocoa estate was based on the implementation of court order.
He called on the state government to fashion out a modality on how to allocate the remaining 3,600 hectares of cocoa plots yet to be allocated rather than capitalize on revoking allocation that generated money for royalties that was hardly paid in the last eight years.
In his earlier remarks, the Secretary General, Etung Cocoa Landlord Communities Committee, Ntufam Benjamin Ndep, stated that asking Ofuka to make refunds would amount to great injustice done against Ofuka.
He said, “Whatever Ofuka did regarding cocoa allocation was done as an agent of government as at the time he did that.
“This is because money was never paid into Ofuka’s account, instead it was paid to the account of the state government. It was clear that landlord communities went to court and judgment was given in two occasions.
“What Oscar did was to obey court order to ensure that royalties of landlord communities were paid.”
In a similar vein, one of the youth leaders in Bendeghe Ekiem, Mr. Mark Ayuk Emom, who said although he is a benefiary of the allocation, even though the plot of cocoa which he acquired isn’t anything to ride home about, expressed dismay at the way and manner the pre-cocoa allocation committee has carried out their task.
The youth leader accused some committee members of going outside the term of reference given to them by the state government.
He added, “The committee’s task was supposed to end in July 30, unfortunately this is August 5, some committee members are still going about harassing farmers! Demanding for bank tellers, even when a contractor has genuine allocation paper.”
