By Margaret John, State House of Assembly Correspondent
The Committee on Land Acquisition constituted by the Governor of Cross River State, Sen. Ben Ayade has appeared before the State Assembly following the heated debate by Cross Riverians of its mandate which is to acquire 200, 000 hectares of land from five undisclosed LGA’s in the Northern Senatorial district of the State.
It averred that the intended land acquisition exercise to be carried out in the State is not in any way related to the suspected RUGA and as such Cross Riverians should put their fears aside.
The Committee Chairman, Engr. Dane Osim Asu explained today (Tuesday) that the various land which were to be acquired through a World Bank grant are strictly for agricultural purposes which will advance the industrialization drive of the State and “any Community which is unable to provide the hectares of land required will not be forced to do so,” adding that “consultations have already been made to the Community Heads as the first stage of the process.”
Several members who aired their concerns were particular about the process of the land acquisition, maintaining that the Committee was not following due process and is yet to get legislative backing.
The Committee was finally granted permission to go ahead with their responsibility as they stated that all the documents pertaining to the matter will be transmitted to the office of the Speaker and made available to the members of the House in soonest.