Group lauds Edo govt on land aquisition policy

By Gabriel Enogholase

Benin—A group, Stakeholders’ Coalition for Protection of the Environment,  has commended the position of Edo State Government to the effect that it would not fold its hands to watch some powerful individuals and multinational companies in the name of investment in the state undermine the rights of the people by taking over their lands.

The group also commended the State Deputy Governor, Mr. Philip Shaibu, who had disclosed that a committee had been set up by the state government to look into the complaints of land grabbing and environmental and livelihood levelled against Okomu Oil Plc by over 30 communities in four of the local government areas of the state.

The group, in a statement in Benin City, yesterday, by Mr. Tony Erha,  however, appealed to Governor Godwin Obaseki to act decisively on the government’ s revocation of the land  acquired by Okomu Oil Plc from the Iyayi Group of Companies.

The group also asked to government to compel Okomu Oil Plc to obey its revocation order of the 13,750 hectares of de-reserved land which transverses Owan and Okomu forest reserves.

It also called on the government to bring the management of Okomu Oil Plc to book over the bulldozing of the high biodiversity, environment and crops belonging to poor villagers in the forest communities, even as it added that the Federal Government had not issued Environmental Impact Assessment Certificate to the company.

The group reaffirmed it earlier position that the multinational oil company was a trespasser  on the revoked land  and was day dreaming when it claimed that in the media that it had provided non existing amenities to as part of its social responsibility to the  communities.

 

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