The Cross River State administration, which is led by Bassey Otu, is making every effort to recover any government property that has been illegally acquired by people or organizations, including previous officials.
Aids of the State’s most recent governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, are major priorities in the recovery effort.
This was emphasized by Emmanuel Ironbar, Chief of Staff to Governor Otu, on Monday night when he began an examination of all government-owned properties in the Calabar metropolis.
A fact-finding commission on state-owned concession companies, industries, and other landed holdings was established by the state government on July 1st, 2023. They must investigate the transactions, legality, and suitability of the said industries’ and properties’ transactions.
In a report submitted yesterday, the Environment Cluster of the State Transition Review Committee, which is led by the former executive secretary of the National Planning Committee, Ntufam Fidelis Ugbo, recommended that several pieces of government property had been illegally acquired and that they all be recovered.
Numerous claims have been made that a former governor and a number of his appointees illegally took possession of state lands and other things.
There are many claims, in particular, that the several hectares of property where the state water board is located were reportedly taken by officials and advisers to the former governor, where they later built opulent residences, upsetting the public water business.
The Environment Cluster observed that the land bought for the Water Board was for overriding public needs alone and was gazetted in their report from June 19, 2023. There is no proof that another gazette issued any reassignments of any Water Board land to anyone in particular. Therefore, we firmly assert that the state government owns the property that is currently on the ground.
British Canadian University, Ogoja Rice Mill, Garment Factory, Obudu German Hospital, Ikom Chocolate Factory, Transcorps Hotel, and Calachika Chicken Factory are among the other government sites that are allegedly the subject of controversy.
The Water Board premises, the Ministry of Works in Calabar, the Hope Waddell Institute in Calabar, St. Stephen Primary School in Obudu, the Ministry of Agriculture in Obudu, Nitel, Okambi-Abonkib-Ikwom-Ikwu-Igwo in Obudu, and a piece of land next to UJ Esuene Stadium bought for Indigo Hotel are among the government properties allegedly illegally taken. On the mentioned property, the previous administration had promised to build a five-star hotel within the next six months.
Cross River House in Abuja and Cross River Government House in State Housing Estate, Calabar are two examples of government structures whose ownership is currently under dispute.
Community leaders in the area where the previous administration took over land to build the Obudu Cargo airport are still complaining about not being paid or receiving insufficient compensation for their lands.
Cyrinus Embeme, one of them, remarked: “My entire ancestral land and my private structures were destroyed. We are still waiting for our compensation. We traveled twice a month for a total of 14 hours to and from Calabar, taking on risks and dealing with stress while we processed paperwork, but until Ayade left office, we had not received pay. Additionally, the airport is far from being finished.
The current governor’s chief of staff, Mr. Emmanuel Ironbar, has started inspecting some of the contentious buildings.
He claimed that the urgent need to ensure that all government properties still being used by private people and unauthorized organizations be swiftly reclaimed made the examination necessary.
“Typically, public officials who served in one administration are expected to step down at the end of their term to make room for the new administration to take over and make use of the facilities allotted to them for the duration of their stay in the new government.
In contrast, Ironbar observed, “What I have been around to see is very pitiful that government properties have been sold out. It is not right because if previous administrations had done the same, then succeeding governments would not have had any property to inherit.”
However, he expressed confidence that the special committee established to assess the transition report and that of recovering government properties would work toward the achievement of their goals.
Former presidential adviser Chief Okoi Obono-Obla responded to the Transition Review Committee’s findings by praising their brave and patriotic work.
He praised their suggestion that the government restore lands that belonged to the Cross River State Water Board Limited but were unlawfully purchased by a few powerful individuals between 2015 and 2023.
“I wholeheartedly commend each and every member of the cluster for their exemplary displays of professionalism, assiduity, and patriotism.
“It is outrageous, deplorable, scandalous, and unacceptable that lands obtained from private individuals or indigenous communities for public purposes could be brazenly and recklessly acquired by high placed individuals with the connivance of government agencies entrusted with its custodian,” he said.
He urged Governor Otu to not take the situation lightly and to hold people accountable for the most egregious destruction and theft of public property recorded in the State’s 56-year history.
Otu was accused of starting a witch hunt by one of the personal aides to former governor Ben Ayade on infrastructure, Akiba Effiom Cobham, who also cautioned him to exercise caution so that “the wind will not blow the bombom of the fowl.”
He claims to be aware of the fact that many former government officials followed the correct channels to obtain their assets.
