Ten parcels of land have been recommended by the Delta State House of Assembly to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for outright revocation.
The committee, headed by a former Speaker and Acting Governor of the state, now member representing Ika North East Constituency, Rt. Hon. Sam Obi, said about 500 plots of lands were illegally shared by the state’s Ministry of Lands, Survey and Urban Development.
The Ad-hoc Committee, which was set up by the House to investigate the allocation of lands in the state since 2011, concluded that some large expanses of lands were fraudulently acquired during the years under review.
The recommendation however triggered anger in Asaba on Tuesday as some Winners’ Chapel devotees wondered why the state government was playing politics with their land.
The affected land included those claimed in the name of Conduct Trust Ventures, sub-divided into plots 21-68, the entire land designated for Remand Home situated at Amendment to Phase VI, Block 111, Core-Area, the entire expanse of land purportedly owned by the Living Faith Church, popularly known as Winners’ Chapel, located at Core-Area 11A, Okpanam, and the Pointer Newspapers’ land that was allocated to the Bank of Industry.
Others are the plots of land at the Garden of Eden around the Cenotaph where plots of land were allegedly indiscriminately allotted to individuals, the plot of land being occupied by the Governor’s Commissioner for Special Duties (Special Infrastructure), Sir Patrick Ferife, and the land beside the Divisional Police Station, ‘B’ Division, purportedly allocated to Messrs. Francis Tarlowe and Malaki Benoko, and the land beside the Christ Holy Churhc International, along Asaba-Onitsha Expressway.
But a Senior Pastor of the Winners’ Chapel along Okpanam Road (names withheld), supported by other top ministers of the church, on Tuesday kicked against such recommendation, describing the move not only as a sign of the “End-Time”, but “demonic”.
The five-man committee explained that after thorough findings, out of the purported 68 plots of land situated at Amendment to Core-Area Layout, Phase VI, Block 111, Asaba, only 20 plots owned by CARNIZ Ventures be reserved.
While the committee urged the House to expedite action on the recommendation, it warned churches, corporate organizations, captains of industries and members of the public, especially politicians, to stop cutting corners in their bids to acquire lands.