By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
Traditional rulers of Mbume blocs of clans, Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State yesterday appealed to the Cross River State government to intervene in the conflicting positions in cocoa allocations made to allottees in government-owned cocoa estate in Etung Local Government Area of the state.
Crises Management Committee chairman for Mbume bloc of clans, Ntufam Odu Ndep Moses, made appeal while answering questions from our correspondent.
The crises management chair, warned the state government against the danger of failing to nip the matter in the bud, stressing that it will be dangerous if the state government fails to intervene in the matter.
The monarchs urged the state governor, Senator Bassey Edet Otu, to desist forthwith from ejecting cocoa farms allottees with genuine paper of payment to government coffers to avoid outbreak of violence in the local council.
Ndep charged the Otu administration to instead concentrate on making use of the remaining 3,137 hectares unallocated by immediate past administration so as not to overheat the system.
He said, “Statistics available revealed that 1,415 hectares were allocated, out of a total of about 4,552 hectares.
“Government can make use of the remaining 3,137 hectares to avoid breakout of any crises with the host communities.
“From what we gathered, it was from the allocation of the 1,414 hectares as a way to execute the consent judgment by past administration that up to N30 million was lodged into state government’s account by immediate past administration and the money used in payment of royalties.”
Ndep averred that findings from his committee shows that money collected from allocation of 1,415 hectares by previous administration was used to defray 16-year old royalty and debt which state government owed cocoa landlord communities.
The crises management committee chairman maintained that the advice stems from findings from investigation carried out by the six-man Crises Management Committee.
He stressed that the allegations by Hon. Cosmos Ebori Nku-led taskforce that allottees of cocoa plots from previous administration encroached into farm lands was false.
He added, “It is on record that the allottees paid required fees into the coffers of Cross River State government before they were ushered to take possession of the allotted farms.
“The threat of eviction based upon misinformation or ignorance is potentially explosive. There have been more than enough blood letting in Etung.
“We therefore urged restraint and strongly advise against any measure that may result to violent clashes, to say the least.”
Mbume bloc of clans made up of Abia, Bendeghe Ekiem and Etomi in Etung Local Government Area stated that it was due to the inability of the state government to defray the debt owed the cocoa landlords communities that made the landlords communities to dragged the state government under former Governor Liyel Imoke, to court in suit No: HE/16/2013.
The traditional leaders advised Governor Otu not to abandon the smartgov platform used by immediate past administration in payment of royalties and rent to landlords communities.
In his remarks, the Taskforce Chairman on Cocoa Allocation and Rehabilitation Committee, Mr. Nku, in a telephone chat, expressed his willingness to do anything to avert crises outbreak.
Hd assured that he would do everything humanly possible to ensure that there is no crises outbreak in the government-owned cocoa estate host communities of Etung.
In his reaction to the issue, former Commissioner for Agriculture in the immediate past administration, Mr. Oliver Orok, said, “It would be unfair to eject allottees out from farms after they had genuinely paid money into government coded account.
It is however pertinent to note that there had been outcry in some quarters that the new cocoa allocation and rehabilitation committee, suprintended over by Nku is allegedly ejecting cocoa farms allottees from plots which they genuinely paid money into coffers of state government for during the era of the immediate past administration.
