Otu urged to protect C’River cocoa estate from balkanization
From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar
A former Special Adviser to Cross River State government on Cocoa Development and Control, Ntufam Dr Oscar Ofuka has charged Gov. Bassey Otu and 10th House of Assembly to protect the state’s Cocoa estate at Etung from balkanization by invaders.
Dr. Ofuka specifically charged the government to take action in quick re-covery of 32 hectares of state government cocoa plots ceded by one Mark Prince to self without respect to court order which restrained Mark Prince from encroachment into the 32 hectares of cocoa plot.
Ofuka averred that should government fail to rise up against the invaders, government should expect more encroachment and subsequent take over of more hectares of Governent cocoa estate by people from it’s host communities.
He avered that a High Court sitting had in Suit No: HM/73/ 2020 ordered that the 32 hectares in Abonita cocoa estate, Etung LGA, alledgely ceded to Mark Prince’s family is still property of state government.
“I charged state governor to send security men to protect government farms from balkanization so as to block that loopholes where government is about to lose one of its sources of revenue.
“If the situation is not urgently arrested, we may likely not have what is called government cocoa estate again as more trespassers are warming up to make encroachment into the estate.
“For you allow a single individual to do away with governent property,there is tendency for many who are likely going to make encroachment into the cocoa estate to take away ownership of the estate from government.
“As a critical stakeholder in cocoa sector, it would bad if I sit down, fold my arms and watch things go wrong and allow people destroy the strides which we recorded in the cocoa sector”, he said.
